Mama dropped the needle and my heart jumped.
It was fascinating, titillating,
be-boppin’, foot stompin’, traffic stoppin’, biscuit soppin’,
donut dippin’, daytrippin’, corn sippin’,
make me wanna shout,
cuss somebody out;
it was without a doubt,
the most sinfully rappin’, toe-tappin’,
thigh slappin’, happenin’ event.

It was the sun risin’, moon smilin’,
bees hummin’, lovers comin’,
mamas cryin’, souls dyin’,
life goin’ on
goin’ on
goin’ on.

It was Coltrane shatterin’ shackles,
Bird making the night air moan,
Dizzy gettin’ busy with the brass,
Brubeck redefining time,
Miles moving mountains meter by meter,
Ella bouncing lightning bolts off the sky.

It was jazz.
Ooh, jazz.
Yeah, jazz.
It was ss-ss-ss-ss-ss-ss

jazz.

Tulsa resident Deborah J. Hunter is an award-winning poet, spoken-word performance artist, and actor. Since 1997, she has facilitated poetry workshops and worked as a poet-in-residence in schools and community programs across the state. Her poetry has appeared in numerous publications, and her chapbooks include The Red Shoes and other poems from the edge.