The Magic Shop

Mr M.

We are joined by a love
of the ‘genre defying’ musician.
This immediate onboarding of
four hundred and fifty new friends,
people like me, common ground assured.

Wet the reed.
Panda hand above the keys.
Muted tips on thick new strings.
The kick, hovering, readying.
Eyes closed, inhale, you are listening.

And then the visceral inundation: 
We fill, flood, smiles freely widening,
around, inbound, swallowing the energy,
resonating to the pulse, the essence,
this hit, this rush, this expanding sensation.

There’s time later to be jealous.
To reconsider our life choices.
But for now we are in this moment,
this magic which you thrill, spin, and spill,
has become these all-consuming moments.

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Donny McCaslin at the Jazz Cafe, Camden, London. May 2023. iPhone 13pro

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