The Silent Banjo

The silent banjo leans against the wall like a movie gangster, casual, coiled, ready for some chin music.

The silent banjo may or may not be in tune—& in what tuning, who knows? To some, this makes it alluring. Its neck is straight, like a mute swan culled by a marksman.

The silent banjo is silent because it has seen too much.

The silent banjo is silent because no one remembers how to listen.

Approach the silent banjo as you would any other apocryphon: brandishing the one true book of matches & saying in your best Hollywood voice, The jig is up.