The Sport Of Kings
(with apologies to Hemingway)
I was fucking
a good-looking kid
from Baltimore
whose uncle owned
a great horse
(Spectacular Bid)
feeling like family
I rooted him home
to win the Derby
two weeks later
it was the Preakness
when he lost the Belmont
I felt like shit
then the kid
takes off for Maryland
when she gets back
it’s not the same
I don’t know
sometimes it seems
they don’t leave
a guy nothin’
love and loss
are the two
great themes
one girl will do
Paul Bley
the jazz pianist
has a marvelous track
of The Nearness Of You
one of Hoagy Carmichael’s
great songs
I played it for Kayo
and she loved it
she uses it on
her demo tape
and always plays it
when I visit her gigs
recognizing the tune
I look up
and we smile at each other
across the room
this night the song
moves me to tears
it brings to mind
another time
when one lived
for love and desire
not recognizing them
as way-stations
Kayo of course
only sees my smile
and that’s the way
I prefer it
when the set ends
she walks to my table
her smile like a gift
and asks you liked it
what do you think
I think of loss and regret
of a wife gone
and of a mother
who died alone
I say you played it
beautifully Kayo
