Straight, No Chaser

It’s a Monkish day: unpredictable,

all sharp edges, a bit jagged, fitful,

repetitive but beguilingly so.

A day to be taken straight, no chaser,

no buffer. A raw day, a risky one,

a day to seize chances and be shot down.

At any time – dawn, noonday, ‘round midnight –

nothing fits exactly, but melody

somehow survives, yes, even flourishes.

Looking for a key, a legend, a clear,

notated score? Well, you needn’t. The day

stops and starts but has a quirky rhythm

of its own, one that can be felt pulsing

beneath the dulling traffic of our lives.

Mike Mahany