Honest or true? Do you know how you feel? If I left a pen and paper on the table could you write it down with words or draw an abstract line drawing of it? If I put a pen under my pillow with a blank piece of paper will it inspire me to be more honest and true tomorrow?
It’s not that hard to try, but it can be difficult to find out. You must have a way to measure success, and that varies for all of us, through time.
This well-dressed man walks into a bar. On his shoulder, rides a well-dressed, tiny octopus. It has on tiny octopus pants, a bow-tye, and eight little black octopus shoes…
(pausing to check the size of that)
The man walks up to the bar and the bartender greets him and says,
“Hello, good sir! …Is that a tiny octopus on your shoulder?”
“In fact, it is.” The man replies (so now everyone has stated the obvious).
“That is impressive! Look at his outfit! You are both so fantastically dressed!” The bartender can’t help himself from going on for a minute.
“Thank you, sir. As a matter of fact, this is a very special octopus in more ways than one.”
“What do you mean?” asked the bartender.
“Well, for one thing, this octopus is also a musician!”
“A musician?! What?! No way! What instrument does it play?”
“If you care to wager a couple of drinks, I bet you this octopus can play any musical instrument you have. If he can’t, then I’ll buy everybody in here a drink. What instruments have you got?”
“Well sure, I’ll take that bet, even though there’s hardly anybody else in here. I gotta see this! We have a drum set right there in the back. Can your tiny octopus play that?” He motioned to a drum set in the back corner of the room, on a small stage.
“Let’s see.” said the well-dressed man, and he walked over to the drumset and set the octopus down on one of the drum-heads and handed it a couple of drumsticks. The octopus grabbed them, stood on the edges and stretched itself up, as high as it could over the drumset, and proceeded to play the shit out of it.
The bartender was impressed and bought them both a drink.
After a while, he noticed the man had finished his drink and most of the octopus’s too.
“Can that octopus play a guitar? I’d buy you another round to see that.”
“Sure.” The man smiled. “You got one?”
The bartender motioned to a guy sitting at a table nearby. “Hey James, can this tiny octopus try to play your guitar?”
“I guess.” the man didn’t sound happy, but he was too curious to say no. He went into a backroom and brought out a guitar. “Here you go, tiny octopus.” He handed the guitar to the man, smiling and watching the octopus. “Does it have a name?”
“It’s Little Jimmy.” the man smiled. “I call him LJ.”
The well-dressed man held the guitar in his lap, and the well-dressed octopus climbed on top of it and played an incredible song. The men were amazed, and the bartender brought them two more drinks.
A while later…
The octopus was halfway inside his glass, looking a bit fucked up. The man finished his and most of the octopus’s drink again.
“Hey bartender, you got any more instruments back there that this octopus can try to play?”
“We got an old trombone in the back, but it hasn’t been played in a long time. You think Little Jimmy can play that?”
“Bring it out.” Said the well-dressed man. “Let’s find out.”
The bartender went to the back and came back with a trombone. He placed it on the bar in front of the octopus. “Can you play this trombone, Little Jimmy?”
The octopus perked up and slithered over to the trombone and began carressing it lightly with four or five of it’s long little legs. It pulls off a couple of it;s tiny black octopus shoes.
“Are you gonna play it, tiny octopus?”
The tiny octopus looked up and for the first time, it spoke.
“Play it? As soon as I get these clothes off, I’m gonna fuck it.”
~ZGALA, September 22, 2023
nmgal007 ~Angel Lilly, Performance Poet, Speaker, Songwriter, Singer 
Ha ha!
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