Three Small Ekphrastic Objects

On the Iliad

Agamemnon and Menelaus were
complete creeps. Achilles was

a pompous piece of shit. Odysseus
alone among the Achaeans

had a lick of sense and a plan
to get back to Penelope and Ithaca.

Homer shows the depravity
of the Mycenaeans, the honor

of the Trojans. Subversive art,
that Iliad.


Musical Imagination

I think that Katy Perry
cannot see the notes she sings
nor those of the band
but Bach and Beethoven could

and hear the instrument for each
without the earphones and studios
and record company
executives.


Mahler, Symphony Number Two

Snippets of brilliant
melody and orchestration
assembled incoherently.
A massive collection of  musical insight
with no discernible whole.
A curious and sadly unrelated
set of great moments.