Man Listening to Disc by Billy Collins

Man Listening to Disc
by Billy Collins

This is not bad-- ambling along 44th Street with Sonny Rollins for company, his music flowing through the soft calipers of these earphones,	This music is loud yet so confidential. I cannot help feeling even more like the center of the universe than usual as I walk along to a rapid little version of "The Way You Look Tonight,"
as if he were right beside me on this clear day in March, the pavement sparkling with sunlight, pigeons fluttering off the curb, nodding over a profusion of bread crumbs.	and all I can say to my fellow pedestrians, to the woman in the white sweater, the man in the tan raincoat and the heavy glasses, who mistake themselves for the center of the universe-- all I can say is watch your step,
In fact, I would say my delight at being suffused with phrases from his saxophone-- some like honey, some like vinegar-- is surpassed only by my gratitude	because the five of us, instruments and all, are about to angle over to the side of the street and then, in our own tightly knit way, turn the corner at Sixth Avenue.
to Tommy Potter for taking the time to join us on this breezy afternoon with his most unwieldy bass and to the esteemed Arthur Taylor who is somehow managing to navigate	And if any of you are curious about where this aggregation, this battery-powered crew, is headed, let us just say that the real center of the universe,
this crowd with his cumbersome drums and I bow deeply to Thelonious Monk for figuring out a way to motorize--or whatever--his huge piano so he could be with us today.	the only true point of view, is full of hope that he, the hub of the cosmos with his hair blown sideways, will eventually make it all the way downtown.

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