WHEN THE SPIRIT MOVES …

Sonny Rollins 1930 – 2026

The pick-up band upstairs at The Bull & Gate
tenor, trumpet, bass & drums –
segues a touch uncertainly
into a slow rolling version of ‘Blue 7’-
slower than the original –
and, no longer putting his horn through its paces
high above the East River on the Williamsburg Bridge,
but standing half-hidden
in the deepest corner of the room,
he adjusts to the tempo
and taking a tentative step forward
waits for the signal to step up, sit in …

In the café next morning
he asks for eggs over easy, coffee black,
and when the barista, seizing a quiet moment,
lifts down his guitar and starts to play,
he smiles and quietly hums along,
wondering not how he came to be here
but where he might be going next.