I tried an experiment whereby I treated a poem the way a jazz musician might treat a melody, playing a melodic phrase or "theme" and then improvising upon the phrase. A couple circumstances suggested, even before I started, that the experiment might be less than 100% successful. I am a piano player, although piano hacker is more accurate. My mother (not a professional piano teacher) gave me a few lessons in middle-school, and then I taught myself, so I studied with the worst. I like to play ballads from the 30s and 40s, and I do a D+ version of "Satin Doll." Okay, maybe D (the grade, not the key). Second problem: words aren't musical notes. Third problem: it's the first time I've tried this. Fourth problem: nobody really likes experimental poems, even if they say they do. Looking on the bright side, I can observe that the poem really isn't very long. It stretches out a bit, but it doesn't have that many words. Here it is:
Theme And Variation
1. Theme
Be nice to her.
Nice words go far.
To go gracefully, gaze.
Her far gaze matters.
2. Variation
be
nice nice
to words to
her go go her
far gracefully far
gaze gaze
matters
3.Variation
her
to far
nice go gaze
be words gracefully matters
nice go gaze
to far
her
4. Variation
be
to
go
far
her
nice
gaze
words
matters
gracefully
Copyright Hans Ostrom 2007
