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The Green Mill

By Eric Vance Walton
September 11, 2004
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We took the redline to Lawrence
and checked the world at the door
in the footsteps of all those before
who found solace in sax and
draped themselves in neon dreams

I must confess
how easily I acquiesced
to the Gresik groove
hundreds moved
as broad shoulders unloaded
some say this swing-style's outmoded.
It don't mean a thing

Brother, I felt the pulse
The heart's still tickin'
after all these years
And I'm the first to say
That I'm blown away

If relics we are, I accept it
This hurried world, I reject it
As I go back in my mind
to a simpler time
learn a new step and perfect it.

Green Mill
(Chicago 8.19.04)

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