Eric Rawson: "What the Bass Player is Thinking"

What the Bass Player is Thinking
​
Usually his thoughts go to warm beaches,
      women in San Francisco, but lately


he has been working out iterations
      of the Mandelbrot Set. Reviewing what
            Aquinas in the Summa thought about


the simplicity of God. His fingers


move of their own accord. He realizes
      he does not know whether he is playing
            in a jazz combo or a country band.


He watches the drummer and deduces
      they are playing a tango. Perhaps they are
            in Montevideo. Or Helsinki,


in a big band. People like to tango
      in Finland, mainly in the minor keys. . . .


More and more it seems that these gigs confirm
      Cartesian principles: the mind performs


its aerials, swinging free of earthly
      claim; the body continues, keeping time.

​Eric Rawson lives and works in Southern California. He is the author of "The Hummingbird Hour" and "Expo."