Singing in YesterYear

Inspired by the songs "Love's Almighty" and "Nothing's Burning" By Angela McCluskey

 

The piano plays in the background

And she starts to sing

She closes her eyes and remembers her yesteryear

 

The smoke hung in the air

Her first gig at the club

Men in pin stripe suits drinking their bootleg beer

 

Her throaty voice seems to just soothe the souls

Of gangsters and modern man alike

The bartender wipes the counter down, eyes closed and swaying to the music

 

Her flapper dress sparkled in the light

 as she held the mic like the lover it was to her

making love, sweet loving music, sweet love

 

A man at the counter asks for another beer

Eyes unchanging as the alcohol begins its course

Watching her with awe and drunken intensity

 

She felt at home

The stage, the band behind her, the men secretly listening

Then the band stops

 

Three burly men in suits walk in

Tommy guns at hand

Telling her to keep singing as they fire their rounds in the crowd

 

She closes her eyes, just paying attention to the band

Letting the bloodshed happen on the other side of her closed lids

She belts the song, never losing strength, snapping her fingers in rhythm

 

The bullets stop

The audience listen from the after life

As the trumpet plays its last 

 

She pulls out a cigerette and lights up

Finally alone at the club, she looks at the carnage

Her hands shake as she takes her first drag, feeling the nicotine spread

 

She feels guilty, like she had been singing for killers

And now, all she had left were the dead

Alone and unpaid, she walks back into her car

 

She opens her eyes and looks into the crowd

The very club from so many years ago

Back to life in her mind

Reviews

[Charles D. Moorer]

I am remided of Billy Holiday by this piece; this is well written and could very easily have been a short story. Well done!

[Bhavya Kaushik]

That was a very good piece of writing. I absolutely loved those little detailing and descriptions which embraced this poem to a great level. This piece was not only dark but also heart wrenching to a great sense.
I loved it! Great work...

[Kena Dawn Augustine]

that was amazing risa!~ simply amazing. I loved the detail you gave it, and how it could have been turned into a story, it was so vivid. your writing has come a long way. it was good then, but now it is excellent. keep up the good work! i love your unique style. you don't write like anyone else.