[Kenneth Rexroth & Edith Piaf]
Here's the very first poem that opens "The Lion For Real" (published in Reality Sandwiches) - Kenneth Rexroth and Edith Piaf - a brief but poignant lyric, Scribble
Steve Swallow' s on piano, Michael Blair on guitar, Ralph Carney on clarinet.
Allen's sleeve note - "Casual note, a long melancholic affectionate 1956 thought about the late irascible Bay Area anarchist Poet, Kenneth Rexroth, might be 4 A.M. in the soul that Michael Blair's music mirrors"
Scribble
Rexroth’s face reflecting human
tired bliss
White haired, wing browed
gas mustache,
flowers jet out of
his sad head,
listening to Edith Piaf street song
as she walks the universe
with all life gone
and cities disappeared
only the God of Love
left smiling
Here (added bonus) a recent translation of the poem into Spanish:Berkeley, March 1956
Garrancho
A cara de Roxroth refletindo a cansada
beatitude humana
A cabeleira branca, a sobrancelha arrebitada
o bigode tagarela,
as flores rebentando
de sua cabeça triste,
a ouvir as cantigas mundanas de Edith Piaf
como se ela passeasse pelo universo
com toda a vida ida
e as cidades desaparecidas
somente o Deus do Amor
ficou a sorrir
beatitude humana
A cabeleira branca, a sobrancelha arrebitada
o bigode tagarela,
as flores rebentando
de sua cabeça triste,
a ouvir as cantigas mundanas de Edith Piaf
como se ela passeasse pelo universo
com toda a vida ida
e as cidades desaparecidas
somente o Deus do Amor
ficou a sorrir
Berkeley, março de 1956