[Skip Navigation]

Poetry Archives

A continuing selection of classic and contemporary poems.

« I’m A Jazz Singer, » She Replied [French] (”Moi Je Chante Le Jazz,” Fit-Elle)

James A. Emanuel

Mots de pain béni :
noire tartine et gelée
de fruits étalée.

‘Le jazz’ se cueille sur
lèvre : orchidée langoureuse,
abeille amoureuse.

‘Le jazz’ : claque des doigts,
crashe tes souvenirs et retourne
à la case départ.

‘Le jazz’ : mystère comme
la main sans doigts, la muscade,
l’or      ou boule de gomme ?

Quand le jazz est là
le saxo      t’envoie en l’air
sans en avoir l’air.

Translated by Jean Migrenne

© 1991 James A. Emanuel. All rights reserved.
From Jazz From the Haiku King | Broadside Press, 1999
Reprinted by permission of the author.
Add Keyword Tags

Separate each tag with a space. You may add as many tags as you'd like to each poem.

What are tags?
Tags, sometimes called “folksonomies,” are words that describe or categorize a poem, like “20th century modernism” or “Italian sonnet”. Tags can help you find poems that have something in common, based on how other people classify them.

More Info

This site will work and look better in a browser that supports web standards, but it is accessible to any Internet device.