Color and music and poetry have a long history of communication in literature, In the 1950’s, the “Beat Generation” poets discovered the novels of Jack Kerouac and Alan Ginsberg, and began frequenting and performing in intimate European style coffee shops and jazz cafes in New York. Greenwich Village in Manhattan evolved into a haven for poets in the 1960’s, like Bob Dylan, whose protest songs were influenced by Kerouac. At the same time, Jazz musicians like Miles Davis and John Coltrane took Jazz to new levels of improvisation as music and modern art exploded in the East Village. An imaginary meeting is described in this modern day scenario which occurs in the mind of an artist who is daydreaming in his studio.
Red Orange met Cobalt,
down at the canvas cafe
for coffee and conversation,
on a blue sky Sunday.
A gold saxophone spoke to an electric bass,
a trumpet played notes so high,
all the mirrors cracked in the place.
Ultramarine showed up later on,
and before long, cool Veridian was singin’ a song.
They danced in the background,
they danced in the hall, they were hot,
they sang with the band, The Flowers on the Wall.
Then Red and Magenta showed up at the scene,
when Lady Purple walked in, she was Vogue magazine.
There was Line and Space, and Intensity;
there was no better place on that Sunday to be.
By the time the closing sign was framed,
there was no one left, except Fortune and Fame.
So the painter laid down his palette and brush,
and casually added the finishing touch;
signing his name, Truly yours,
All Too Much.