Selected articles from

black panther

The duke
enters on a night full of moon
and the crowd shuffles and sways to the tides
staring at each opening of the door
the duke
slides in through the back
giving hope to girlie men from the other side
but he has eyes only for the panther
on stage
dusky voiced and sensuous
purring softly to the masses
bodies mesmerized by her eyes
and tempting song
the duke watches
and the click of cue ball on black
plays a back drop song
to the sounds of a blue night
echoing out the door of harry's place
and the panther glides across the stage
disappearing into the smoke
i'm left with a tune playing inside my head
caressing the song the dark panther sang
and tossed at me with a glance and a fleeting smile
caught beneath a neon light
imagination
making my night right at harry's place

\96 duncan

Duncan Mercredi is the un-official Poet Laureate of the Manitoba Blues Society. His poetry, setting out, sometimes quite graphically, his impressions and reactions to and comments on the local blues scene is a regular feature in Blues News. He has published 3 books of poetry, all available from Pemmican Publications, Winnipeg. Duncan and family are members of the MBS.