first sweat
then glitter
beneath her
i was an orb
of vapor slow-
dissolving
bari sax
for sunrise
double bass for
humid nights
she wailed
across the moon-
lit waters
like a ship
once
in a salt cave
i licked
a wall until my
tongue bled
the dawn rose
at the nape
of her neck
later
in the crushed
mica
on my chest
she traced
a cabin
hum for me
she whispered
the ballad
on the gramo-
phone inside
often then
i sensed her
in darkness
sheared my
white hair
the shore’s scent
the ship’s wail
i hurled my
shadow upon
her shadow
in the sand
_________________________
Jaydn DeWald is a writer, educator, jazz bassist, and the author of the essay collection Sheets of Sound: Notes on Music & Writing (forthcoming from Broken Sleep Books in 2020) as well as several limited-edition chapbooks. He is Assistant Professor of English & Director of Creative Writing at Piedmont College in Demorest, Georgia, USA.