Building #2

Janis wasn't pretty in the face. Even her voice wasn't pretty. Her voice was a cave, a cause, a gouge in the universe. She was unrecognized, even after she became famous. She sang and died of recognition. She was never once rejected for her lung capacity or her diaphragm or her vocal range or her throat. She was rejected for her mouth.

It's no different from playing saxophone or oboe or flute -- women making faces. Even God hears more than he sees, God who betrayed Beethoven. To want the experience but not the view.

(March 17, 1995)