Ekphrastic Highlight: A Poem by Catherine Arra

"Take Five" inspired by a photo by Alex Stolis titled "Mickeys" from a series entitled "My City was Gone"

“Mickeys” by Alex Stolis

Take Five

You slot a dime, key A-15, say
Don’t look, finger-tease the Formica table
edging the maroon sides, up three art deco stripes
from the end, cup my hands.
Shhhh. Wait for it.

A whirring click-hiss stop. Mini speakers sizzle.
Brubeck’s Take Five in 5/4 vibrates our chrome stage.
A piano syncopates, a sax whirls, spins
our table, delivers swirling hot coffee, a fat slice
of Mickey’s famous apple pie à la mode to share.

Eyes still closed, you table tap that otherworldly
beat, a prelude; driving lost
in glow light, making love in the ‘55 Chevy
convertible, up to the stillness in stars, riding rhythm 

around the tunnel of that brass sax,
reed breath hot.

"Take Five" was inspired by Alex Stolis's photo "My City Was Gone: Mickeys."

Author notes: “I was immediately pulled into the timeless romance of 1950s-60s art deco styled diners with tabletop jukes as well as Stolis's intimate and exquisite composition in capturing that feeling. I imagined a first or second date with an after-movie dessert at Mickeys and falling in love. I chose the song Take Five, listed on the juke, for its timelessness and as the first jazz standard to cross over into popular music charts in 1961 and still aired today.”

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Catherine Arra lives in the Hudson Valley of upstate New York, where she teaches part-time, and facilitates local writing groups. She is the author of four full-length poetry collections and four chapbooks. Recent work appears in San Pedro River Review, Thimble Literary Magazine, Origami Poems Project, Stone Circle Review, Anti-Heroin Chic, Unbroken, Impspired, and Unleashed Lit. Find her at www.catherinearra.com

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Response from Alex Stolis: “Arra’s poem goes beyond simple nostalgia, she beautifully captures the intersection of the past, present, and future; love and yearning.”

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Alex Stolis lives in Minneapolis; he has had poems published in numerous journals. Two full length collections Pop. 1280, and John Berryman Died Here were released by Cyberwit and available on Amazon. His work has previously appeared or is forthcoming in Piker’s Press, Jasper's Folly Poetry Journal, Beatnik Cowboy, One Art Poetry, Black Moon Magazine, and Star 82 Review. His chapbook, Postcards from the Knife-Thrower's Wife, was released by Louisiana Literature Press in 2024. http://www.louisianaliterature.org/2024/04/11/new-release-announcement-alex-stolis/ RIP Winston Smith is forthcoming from Allen Buddha Press. He has been nominated multiple times for the Pushcart Prize. He can also be found here.