Rank these—true or false—
from easiest to hard:
A melody is not a pretty girl,
nor a spoon striking a water glass.
The Hypnotist has a gift for the violin;
the Medium, a tin ear.
In the beginning, before recorded
sound, loud followed soft.
The pleasure felt by a plagiarist
exceeds a prophet’s ecstasy.
Too many people fold the flag
the way they do a towel.
An octave is not a grip, neither half
nor twice a vibrating string.
The piano’s winged shape
is a harp turned on its side.
Published in Cider Press Review, Volume 25, Issue 2.
Jason Waldrop’s poems, stories, and essays have appeared in numerous journals, including Denver Quarterly, Caliban, Ploughshares, PopMatters, Poetry Northwest, Quarterly West, and New Letters. His literalist and dystopian novel, The Last Cigarette, won the the Mid-List press First Novel Series.
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