Many thanks to πO for choosing 2 poems in Unusual Work No. 31
SOME 21ST CENTURY COMPOSITIONS
Sonata in High C for Whipper Snipper
Duet for Yamaha 1000 and Dump truck
Concerto for two Jet Skis
Rondo for coffee machine
Trio for Leaf Blower, Whipper Snipper and lawn mower
Opera for a Qantas A380 takeoff
Prelude to the Afternoon of a Leaf Blower
Single voice conversation for Smart phone on public transport
Duet for barking Dogs
AN ORANGE
(a) Thank you for submitting… trusting us with your work… been handled with care… enjoyed reading your… appreciate the chance to read…lovely to hear from you… thank you for thinking of us… we thank you sincerely for sharing… received many excellent… appreciated the chance…whilst I’m pleased… whilst we enjoyed this…
(b) although… we must decline… won’t be able… regret to tell you… sorry to inform you…sorry to disappoint… unable… some tough selection choices… tough decisions…have decided to pass…limited in our selection… decided to pass…unfortunately, not for us… unfortunately not be using it…we won’t be accepting any work from you… unfortunately with such limited space… handful of pieces…narrow down… won’t be able…this time…sorry it’s not better news… unfortunately…you will have success elsewhere…
In 1735, Italian composer Giovanni Pergolesi wrote L’olimpiade his final opera. At the Roman premiere unfortunately, the singers were mediocre, and the audience hated the music. He had to endure the humiliation of being struck on the head by an orange hurled by a member of the audience. A year later he died of consumption at the age of 26. Sorry it’s not better news. You will have success elsewhere…unfortunately not for us
Psychoanalysist Sigmund Freud said that the ego is “like a man on horseback who has to hold in check the superior strength of the horse”.
– a rejection notice or an orange to the head is usually sufficient
