In Memoriam John Coltrane

I'm just going to start out by saying I loved this poem. I've always had a soft spot in my heart for jazz and blues music, and a poem addressed to the memory of John Coltrane seemed like it would be right up my alley. Thankfully, it was. I liked how even though the poem was "about" Coltrane it didn't burden itself with overblown praise or flowery description of the man that we already know: instead, the poet paints us a picture of a coal train moving smoothly and slowly, dark against the night, the rattling of the cars beating a rhythm against the tracks. It's still relevant to Coltrane--not only is it a pun involving his name, but it resembles his music in a way: powerful and steady and smooth. It's a clever play on the language and it works very well in this case.