Put the same old notes
in a new order
and you’ll have
mad rock and roll skills.

Pile the same old notes
in a tall stack, then give it
enough of a shove
that it almost falls over
and you’ll have
mad jazz skills.

But put some notes no one knows
in either a stack or an order
and they’ll call you mad,
though you may not feel that way.

Or find one note
and sing it, play it,
hum with it, live in it —
yes, madness, yes,
you won’t even know you’re mad
unless you agree with them.

Don’t agree with anyone.
Maybe you found the note
all those skittering guitar hands
were seeking.  Maybe you blew
the note that none of the horns
ever blew.  Maybe you’re not
mad enough yet
to be called skilled —
maybe it’s all too new
for it to be known how you did it
yet,

but don’t agree with them.
Instead, blow mad, pick mad.
Hum like a lobotomy saw
and see what happens,
see who starts humming with you.
Mad skills, you see,
take their time in fruiting.