Summer Jazz
Threads of conversation sway,
Like palm leaves caught in a warm hush.
Laughter blooms,
Bright, reckless, and full of color.
The sun lowers itself
Into the horizon’s slow grin.
Ice melting in slow-dancing glasses,
Shadows stretching like cats in the heat.
Bartenders find their rhythm,
Hands moving like drummers,
Quick and precise, each pour a hit,
Each shake a heartbeat.
She walks in.
Striped turtleneck, beret tilted just so.
Round glasses softening the world,
She’s a melody before the band even begins.
I close my eyes,
Lean back into this warm-blooded chaos,
Let the evening fold around me like jazz,
Finding its shape, just as it starts to break.
