Reuben Jackson   LATISHA'S HOUSE OF BEAUTY long before nasa thought negroes worthy of exploring heavens dark as we were once, sara wilcox and countless other sisters, (legs crossed like stars in a constellation) spent nearly every saturday beneath moaning, space helmet-sized dryers, trying to straighten and perfect that which was round and lovely as a planet distant as the men upstate.   FOR BEN WEBSTER where do his eyes go when he plays ballads? higher than smoke fogging the room, cymbals which rustle god's earlobes like kisses. a friend swears there is a skylight in his hat where notes gather before plunging toward the bell of his tenor, while ben gazes longingly up the skirts of stars. Kathy Keler Double Moon 1997,15" x 15", oil and alkyd on wood panel see more work by Kathy Keler     FRANK frank was fired from the el diablos for inserting hendrix licks into their celebrated james brown medley. there was silence as he bent to unplug his wah-wah pedal; metal tongue banished from their matching suits and rote precision choreography. one year later, the ghetto was teeming with posthumous interest. frank's door was bruised from all the knocking. but that friday afternoon the el diablos stood waiting for his skyline of amps to come down.   TEE a bic lighter cranked to the max the tear-shaped flame sparks a pipe whose smoke surges like young brothers entering a theater to watch john wayne eliminate entire tribes with a single bullet before the box of raisinettes opens like your eyes when the pusher comes   DISHWASHING more spots than a leopard mother chided hoisting each glass to the light an unconscious toast to perfection (hers) not that i didnt get it since i wanted prayed for michael jackson's every onstage move to be brilliant as her handed down crystal when she purified them for beverages we could not drink anyway   TWO HAIKU two bickering crows on two separate branches could be you and i. as you gather strength-- i fade like autumn colors when november comes.   Reuben Jackson, author of fingering the keys (Gut Punch Press, 1990), works as an archivist with the Smithsonian Institution's Duke Ellington Collection. He lives in Arlington, VA. Published in Volume 3, Number 4, Fall 2002.   To read more by this author: Reuben Jackson: The Wartime Issue Reuben Jackson: It's Your Mug Anniversary Issue Reuben Jackson: Langston Hughes Tribute Issue