Misdirection

A strange night ends

In meaningless morning.

Sebastian plays calming 

Chords just out of sight

But, I’m confused again:

Which of us is 

Truly playing?

Who’s the composer 

And who is composed?

And what have I lost?

At first I thought a script,

Then, the refined runes

Of a score which 

No one was keeping.

A musical notation to 

Fix the melodic pose,

The harmonic of 

The underclothes. 

Tweak and trim until 

It’s time to leave 

And we’re dressed to kill.

The sheet upon the 

Podium gleams pristine 

Stripped of its notes, 

Leaving but lines 

On paper 

In black distress.

America: Election 2020

I’m not sure that ironic is quite the right word but there are folks in America who fear a race war depending on how the election plays out. 

A race war is precisely what Charles Manson wanted to ignite. What a vindication it would be were he to be proven a prophet.

Antifa: Trump’s Invisible Enemy

Antifa is not an organisation, not even a loose coalition. Antifa is an idea: anti-fascism or, more broadly, anti-authoritarianism. You cannot round up and arrest an idea or a concept and, in the case of anti-fascism, even if it was possible why would you want to? Unless you are a fascist. But it isn’t possible, just like you can’t imprison democracy. I would like to know who invented the contraction “antifa,” and why. It has certainly not made political dialogue any easier. In fact, it has achieved the exact opposite. It seems that the majority of people DO believe in the existence of an organised party called “Antifa.” Congratulations, whoever you are. One of the first steps in controlling a population is to feed them disinformation, in order to modify their thinking to better conform to your party’s line. An undereducated population unused to critical thinking is the best material out of which to sculpt the society of your dreams and, in the USA, you have a large population perfectly suited to being herded.

Daphne

Ms Daphne Alphabet 

Chartered a Lear-brand jet

Saw a man she’d never met

Found the love she’d never get 

Lived a life with no regrets 

Smiled a bit once touched by Death 

Blew Her a kiss with her last breath 

Gould Inclusion

For all of the civility and sophistication the Western World has chosen to associate with “classical” music, fans of it do appear to wax rabid at any hint of controversy. Do they know that Bach didn’t have a radio in his living room? And that what today we call “classical” music was effectively pop music at the time when it was composed. They didn’t have hit singles but there was a brisk trade in sheet music. Write a good piece and as soon as word of it got ‘round, everyone with the means wanted their own copy. It has always paid to be popular.…

Night Vision

Sun long set, in these

Small hours I sit

Watching the darkness.

And what does 

My lonely vigil win?

Over and in the 

Still black lake 

Doubled stars spin

Along with the moon

And its identical twin.

I don’t hear the waves,

I hear but my heart,

So with beauty overfilled,

That this nocturnal vision,

Merely by its sacred sight

Might well cause 

My awed heart’s

Division

Into parts.

Dining Awhile

“I hope that Madame and Monsieur find our dishes to be satisfactory?”

“Oh, I do! I haven’t even seen these dishes in a sack o’ dog years! They are just SO lovely!”

“Madame is too kind. I believe we’ve had these from the beginning. As we say, Melmac’s the platter that matters!”