Downtown

Sinners and moralists
Gather here today
In Pure Grandeur of city lights.

Flapper surfaces on Bullring Stage,
Scandalous Rebel in her mother’s eyes.
Short skirts, high heels,
Daring Red Rouge on full-blossomed lips

Come on, kid, she whispers.
Paint those ivories with ruby blue scales.
We’ve started with the root of C.
Move from minor to augmented.

Jazz and liquor mingle together
Haze of cigarette smoke fuses with air
Tango dance and classic red roses
Juxtaposing melody boldly nears the end

Murder on a marriage bed
Gunshots ring the broken hearts
Blood stains the velvet theatre seats in red
Cymbals crash; Vaudeville Night’s hunt parts

Vanity stands alone.