JOE PANAMA
 

played

the uptown

 

Latin club

circuit

 

ballrooms

cafes

lounges

social clubs

 

undercarding

Puente    Ellington

 

Tito Rodriguez

 

played St Nicholas

Arena opposite

 

The Count

Billie

 

anyone who

was anyone—

 

a lifetime later

he plays a different

 

downtown circuit

working a McDonald’s

 

near ground zero

 

his—for breathing—

white mask resting

 

nearby sheet music

 

death ashes

 

soot settling

outside

 

on golden arches