You have to get
from point A
to point B
in my mind
without taking
a wrong turn,
that's not
as easy
as it may sound,
a single word
can throw you off
if you take
a meaning
I don't intend
or slide
off on a slippery
patch of syntax.
I comb over poems
again and again looking
for the dead-end
or the likely wrong turn
or the roadblocks
because I know most of you
won't go on
if you come to
a log or a dead cow
in the road
of my poem,
you'll just
start reading
someone else.
How long do I have
to make
an impression
on you,
30 seconds,
the way those books
at Kinkos say it is
with a job interview?
So I have
to make sure
my syntax
is a throughway
and then
I have to get a grant
to boost the infrastructure
of my poem,
add a few lanes
(subtly,
NOT LIKE THIS!)
so you not only won't
have to puzzle
it out too much,
but it'll keep you
absolutely riveted
i give up
Max this is simply brilliant. Witty, stylish, entertaining, engaging (of course) and entirely accurate. Will return! t x
You are also a wizard Mr Reif.... as the young guy found, on account of the combination of ingredients used in this one, there is no way the reader can stop eating it until it's finished - washed down - and very tasty it was too! jim
I read the full poem and just could not stop reading. Loved it.
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
I googled Max Reif's MIND and here I am, stuck but smiling,30 seconds,60 seconds, More-! Very clever, enjoyable read and maxquest.