Intro

 Introduction

Should you ask me, whence these stories?

Whence these tales of tunes and taxis,

With the moons that split asunder,

With the elevated highways,

With Ah-o-MA-Mey and Ja-NA-check,

With the stairways, hidden, secret,

With the magic Little People,

With the women, always leaving,

Always leaving, always tricking?

Always tricking, not conniving.

Ask again about the women,

Always leaving, then returning

(To their foil-hero baffled

By the simple and the complex).

Should once again you ask me, 

Whence these stories? Whence these fables?

I should answer, I should tell you, 

“Pay attention:

Life is hidden -- unrevealing,

Like the world at play around us.

Buckle seat belts, Yoko Kanno,

Roller-coaster ride commencing.

Life is here for those who seek it.

In these fables, in these stories,

So we’ll start again with music,

Music strange, unknown, delightful,

Music all-important, clearly,

Music with its clues and kindness,

Music with its strong emotions,

Music that shall lead our way.”

Should you ask me, Whence this traffic?

With this taxi and the broadcast

From the Philco, of this music,

Of the fanfare from the contests

Of the jocks and of the jockettes,

From 1926 and counting?”

I should answer, I should tell you,

“From the Gods perched all around us,

From the Gods poised all around us,

From the Gods who play with puppets,

From the Gods who play with humans,

From the Gods who seek to steer us,

Gods whose tasks for us are hidden,

Hidden in the moonlight awful,

Hidden in the moons’ lights awful,

Gods persistent, Gods unblinking.

From these Gods unnamed in legend,

The strong are with survival gifted.”

I should further answer to you,

“So again the music’s classic,

So again it’s on FM, it’s

On the radio broadcasting

To our heroine heroic.”

If still further you should ask me,

Saying, “Who was she: Aomame?

Tell us of this Aomame.” 

Congested traffic stalled her mission:

‘Hitman-woman hit your target,

Meet your Karma, death-dispensing,

Even scores, protect the weakest

Victims needing wraths of justice.’”