Ornithology

In G

          "Blues for Alice"
     Embossed in black vinyl;
Alto sax half-tones
     Determinedly driven from
          Grooves in a gyre.

In F

All the cats
     Danced in the aisles
          Grooving on jazz when
               Charlie "Bird" Parker
                    Flew his horn.

In C

     Each sizzling seventh
Axed through the ages,
     Demanding an audience.
          Gone, now, resolved in the
               Circle of Fourths.

— Stace Johnson, 1988