Mandolins, guitars
bongo drums,
mixed with voices,
produce harmony
pleasing to the ear.
Blues, country, folk-rock
slide one into the other.
Bodies move to the beat
of night-defining rhythm.

In the midst of sound,
lives join together.
Joyful voices mix in
friendly exchanges.
Glasses clink one another
then the table
before lifted again
in celebration of life
and connectedness.

Voices dart out
and strike the air, then
blend into background
enveloped in smoke and music –
unlike Pi going on forever
never repeating, always original
challenging the mind
Balanchine discord strikes nerves
until a pattern emerges.

After you depart
I sit alone and wait
for the music to begin again
in the room, in my heart.
If I wait long enough, it will.
So, I wait and listen and be,
With half-empty tables,
music fills the night and
bodies sway in summer’s heat.