The live music at The Drift Inn is rich,
Thick with a beauty and magic
Rare to these ears,
An unexpected delight
On my ocean journey,
Decadent infusion of much needed serenity.

In keeping with the gentleness of the moment,
I delicately raise a dinner mushroom to my lips.
In keeping with my own clumsy, unintentional irreverence,
It falls with a splash back into my hot-n-sour soup,
And I twinkle in the reverie.

Still, the rhythm comes,
Melodic from a guitar not quite picked.
A grin frolics into the musician’s repose,
Transporting the hungry patrons
To new heights of refreshment,
Raining into their animated shimmers
Like giggling drops of heaven.

Lilted melodies drift out into the overcast maritime,
Dissolving the storms into a sparkling tonic
Of tapping drops that make their way
Back to his fingers and the strings
While the ocean applauds into the sand.

While I wander in the various bits of ballad,
My oyster crackers become soggy
But barely seem to notice in
The trade of neglect for refrain.

Tony embraces his guitar,
Courtier close, stroking the strings,
An impromptu choreography,
Adoration flaming.
His tender arias dance on the chords,
Tune tapping the melodies to ether,
Bathing my senses in the euphoric nectar
Of melodic apogee and
The sweet harmony
Of happy chatter with brilliant strain.

The various waitresses involuntarily sway in
Instinctive familiarity.
Some of the men slip momentarily,
Heads nodding in independent resonance
From their eating fingers.
Other feet keep their own time, too.

I scoop the forgotten mushroom into my mouth,
Squishing the spongy fruit to teeth
In a delightful burst of teriyaki tempeh.
I buy 900 CD’s and tip him a ten,
Well greased from the marionberry daiquiris,
Not sticking to my seat,
But floating in the sweet soup of harmonies.

Tony Kaltenerg’s offering
At The Drift Inn –
Yachats, Oregon
May 30, 2010.

06/02/2010

Author's Note: Title assistance provided courtesy of Adam - :-)

Posted on 06/02/2010
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