Blues Man

by Dr. Emory D. Jones

His calloused fingers fret the chord
The juke-joint crowd is hushed and still
His song is beautiful reward.
He plays it with such easy skill.

The juke-joint crowd is hushed and still
In reverence of the master’s touch.
He plays his song with easy skill
Yet no one ever gives as much.

In reverence of the master’s touch
They rock and sway to bluesy beat
Yet no one ever gives as much
When they swing up and on their feet.

They rock and sway to bluesy beat
He gives them everything he’s got
When they swing up and on their feet
They do him honor without a thought.

He gives them everything he’s got
His song is beautiful reward
They do him honor without a thought
As his calloused fingers fret the chord.

Dr. Emory D. Jones is a retired English teacher who has taught in Cherokee Vocational High School in Cherokee, Alabama, Northeast Alabama State Junior College, Snead State Junior College and Northeast Mississippi Community College. He joined the Mississippi Poetry Society Inc. in 1981 and has served as president. He has more than 235 publishing credits, including publications in such journals as Voices International, The White Rock Review, Free Xpressions Magazine, The Storyteller, Modern Poetry Quarterly Review, Gravel, Pasques Petals, The Pink Chameleon, and Encore: Journal of the NFSPS. He is retired and lives in Iuka, Mississippi, with his wife, Glenda. He has two daughters and four grandchildren.