Put the pictures of your saints on the wall
You're going to need them
You're going to need the black and white photo
Of Thelonious Monk in wrap-around sunglasses
Perched over the piano ready to construct
Angular cities of notes
You're going to need the picture of Keith Jarrett
Fronting his European quartet
At a club in Sweden in 1974
Conjuring abstract forms in gospel piano clusters
Put the pictures of your saints on the wall
You're going to need them
As the stalking metallic hyenas
Who want to snatch the beating heart from your chest
Approach the gates of the city
You're going to need the postcard picture
Of Andre Breton sat down at the table
Of another cafe with another cigarette
Taking a break between writing
And seeing the friends with whom
He was seeking to expand the domain of the heart
Riding a skiff through underground Paris canals
Emerging out the side of the Atlantic bluffs
Into a sea of stars
