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PALACE
The floors are old and torn.
The walls are peeling and
stained
By sweat and rain.
Ages of it.
The curtains are red velvet
tatters
Parted to the wings
To avoid post-grandeur
embarrassment.
The band still plays like it's
their last.
They know the insides,
Outsides
And an extra thing or two
About pleasing a crowd
And keeping the party
rolling.
The dancers are of the old
school:
Charisma and sensual groove,
The lightness of feet,
The feeling of rhythm
And the heart of romance.
The lines are on their
faces,
A resultant of hard pasts
And everyday hard work
realities
Mixed with inner
frustrations
And loss of innocence.
But for tonight…the youthful
heart beats again.
Put away the fears of obvious
tatters
And creases of that cursed
aging,
For the band will play,
The floor will get more
mileage,
The sweat and contact will
heat
And the dance will rule
eternal…
For tonight ONLY,
Until the next six days come to
pass.
Welcome to the palace of old and
new charms.
Breathe it in…
For tomorrow,
It might depart
Into a rubble of cold.
© David S Minjares
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Commentary:
After finding a used Tito Rodriguez "boleros" CD (that my folks so badly wanted) in a used CD bin during my May San Diego trip, we played it during a Sunday evening dinner. My folks talked about their days of going from dance hall to dance hall, club to club, function to function and soaking in plenty of live Latin, Jazz and Rhythm & Blues music they could get their hands on. This piece is for them, their generation (the mid 50's to early 60's, before the Watts Riots) and for the loving memory of those halls & clubs that they attended and are no longer around for the new generations to appreciate. This also goes out to the UK Acid Jazz & Latin scenes that are returning it to the way it was… new, fresh, alive and soulful. To those UK DJ's and musicians, on behalf of my parents…THANK YOU.
David S Minjares
Bonfire contributor
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