Al Handa is the Publisher and Editor of the Delta Snake Daily Blues and the Delta Snake Blues Review. The Review began in 1981 as a paper publication, and went online in 1994. In May 1998, the Daily web version was launched, and serves as a daily newspaper for the Blues. Al has also written for various publications, and for 20 years played as a musician in the SF Bay area. The poem is an excerpt from a work in progress called "Jook."
embellished tales with raggy rhythms
fill the cluttered air,
…
sung by a faded star
of the victrola days
who now exults
in the low rent fame
of a street minstrel,
…
the king of maxwell street,
dappled with the colors
of worn out sunday best,
…
the king's sharp ears
hear two of his subjects
playing the age old game,
…
they agree that love is in the air
but differ as to how long,
…
one night too short
and forever too long,
…
but compromise is reached
and their exit is noted
by the old storyteller
who'll write another
saucy little song
to wow the crowd
and keep the silver flowing
into an old guitar case
that followed his weaving,
…
sometimes staggering path
from the delta,
…
People gettin' tired of hearin'
the same ol' stagger lee
you see...
--copyright 1998 by Al Handa
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