Poets in Port, June 27, 2008

Poets in Port will feature Jay Jii at 7:30 pm on Friday, June 27, 2008 at Caffé Portofino, 249 Main St., Northport, opposite the theatre. There will also be an Open Reading — the audience is encouraged to bring their poems and participate. For more information, contact Steven Schmidt.

Jay Jii spent most of his developmental years growing up in East Northport, NY, studying as a musician, choosing classical guitar as his main instrument. From 1988 to 1991, Jay attended Five Towns College where he received an associate's degree in jazz/commercial music. Today, Jay works out of his home studio, "The Avatar Lounge". He plays a wide variety of musical instruments and has written and recorded hundreds of compositions. Solar Tapestry (Trafford Publishing, 2006) represents his debut as a literary writer. Jay hosts poetry readings at the Solar Café in Brentwood on the first and third Tuesdays of each month at 7:30pm. Jay Jii's mission as a musician and author is clear: "My aim is always to innovate and challenge. If I merely amuse, I have failed..."

Jay's poems can be seen on his Myspace blog, http://www.myspace.com/jayjii .

Resonance of Past Promises

My thoughts had always drifted
On a tortured sparrow's wings
Set aloft a dreamless world of alabaster
I wished for just one chance
To replace fear with fantasy
And with every autumn leaf that fell
I waited for my prayers to be answered

You came to me
On a sea of butterscotch dandelions
Bearing a velvet kiss
On painted lips
And beneath your veil of violet smoke
The worn edges of my dusty faith
Burst with fresh golden springs

The world that had once been stony
Glowed in an emerald lattice of dreams
All fears spooned out
And replaced with trust
My thoughts reached as high as heaven
I found an answer to a prayer
In you