Plied Piper: Poem and Painting by Leo Hartshorn

in the prelude was the singular note of the primal overture

until the counterpoint of a discordant melody came slithering

from the plucked strings of the sorry sapling

bringing infamy into the nursery symphony

who will play the price of the singular note?

snake-infested terra firma poisoned naked naivete

which in truth alone can play the lyre

while the underworld maestro's prodigal performers march

to the broken metronome headlong into the abyss of leviathan

who will play the singular note?

pied beauty of burnt siena torn from heaven's blue rib

fingers the pierced stick kissing it with overdrawn breath

in order the he might play the ransom note

a solo on wounded flute with violen(t) accompaniment

the price of the singular note on a wooden instrument