[JPL] For 50th Anniv. of Billie Holiday's death-July 17

[Carole Weatherford]

July 17, 2009 will mark the 50th anniversary of Billie Holiday’s death. In honor of Lady Day, my muse, I aim to enlist 50 jazz hosts to read a poem on their shows or post a poem on their blogs (during the week of July 12) from my award-winning book, Becoming Billie Holiday (www.becomingbillieholiday.com). The poem, “If Dreams Come True,” is pasted below. If you prefer another poem, I’ve provided links. I also welcome interviews. Let me know if you'd like a review copy. Please share this with other hosts and jazz fans. 
 
Many thanks,

Carole Weatherford
www.becomingbillieholiday.com

 

If Dreams Come True

I will bathe in spotlights 
and sleep on satin.
Gardenias will bloom 
year round in my backyard.
Sadie’s rib joint will make 
rich folks lick their fingers.
“Prez” and I will do ten dozen duets.
Crooners will sing my praises 
between the lines of songs.
Hornmen will trumpet my arrival
and claim me as their own.
Piano players will secretly 
pine for me as my solos 
move them to tears.
Singers will try but fail 
to mimic my tempo and phrasing.
My biography will light 
the silver screen; my myth, 
inseparable from my music.  
Cats will groove to my blues 
long after I’m gone;
a legacy in wax.
History will hail me
in the same breath as Duke 
and Count—jazz royalty.
I will reign over Swing Street
and have found the love I crave.

 

 

Links to more poems 
http://bethrevis.blogspot.com/2009/04/blog-tour-carole-weatherfords-becoming.html 
http://smallbranchespoetry.blogspot.com/ (April 6, 2009)
http://blaine.org/sevenimpossiblethings/?p=1432
http://wordswimmer.blogspot.com/2008/12/how-deep-is-ocean.html
http://blbooks.blogspot.com/2008/07/poetry-friday-review-of-becoming-billie.html