PACKAGING MATTERS

By Charles Rhyne

While waiting for my microwaved Earl Grey,
after studying the lyrics of Stipe
(as if he were Whitman)
I decided that life is a compromise of presentation and depth.

What are riddling songs,
without a charismatic front man?
Where is the celebration of self,
without that big wiry beard?

Art is a melange of introspective expression
and glaring neon.

Intellectual cabaret.