George Murray
American Bandstand
Inscribe, Antonia from Phillipsburg,
In the language of flexion, grammatical
Though imprecise, whose words stretch a second
Upon the screen then disappear, leaving
Vague impressions, ellipses, caesuras,
Extravagant phrases—something imperative.
Tell the tale one more time, please, I have
Forgotten it already. Anyway,
It’s not the meaning but the telling that
Matters. Oh brave syntax! Now reverse!
Phillip from Ansonia replies
Cruelly, but not without appeal—
All slashes, connotative of one
Too witless or simply too impatient
To spell out anything. Just all one word
With slashes. Antonia won’t let him
Get away with that. She throws in two
Long, parenthetical phrases so complex,
So philosophical that they require
A reply more speculative than
Immediate. Phillip’s apostrophe,
Short, completely unpunctuated,
Is a masterpiece of abstraction.