Odes to Effects Pedals
By Simon Mermelstein
This work was published in the Fall 2015 issue of The Lost Country. You may purchase a copy of this issue from us or, if you prefer, from Amazon.
Chorus
Underwater consensus
a wash of many
different voices each saying the same thing differently
a house built from each timber
the sound of every
Reverb
backs of walls and concert halls
& ancient caves converted into a circuit
soaked from stepping in the same river twice
Looper
Sysiphus is my sideman
Phaser
offset perfection
cosmic oscillator simulation
sitars & the sounds of vowels
catscratch. the depth of tremble
in tune with the universe
Wah-wah
funky breath fresh out the devil's mouth
the nastiest jawbone since Samson slew a thousand
I am one who has eaten the sun howling at the moon
Distortion
slicing off the tops of mountains
I swallow signals whole
and spit out
oceans of sweet frequencies
I am beauty found in jagged places
I am destruction / rebuilding / in my own image
I have holes in me but I sound better than ever