“Falstaff”
In the self-titled poem paying tribute to Shakespeare’s greatest comedic invention, the poem references not his legendary introduction as drinking pal to Prince Hal, but rather his later resurrection as star of the show. The poem shows homage to Falstaff the hearty woo-maker with Windsor wives.
Jonah Katz
Exactly who or what Katz is remains unclear, but it is for certain that he is an interesting figure. The opening and closing stanzas raise the possibilities: he might be a poet or a bard, a sage or a seer. Or, maybe he’s just queer. Possibly the latter since he does speak of goats sporting goatees and apron-wearing apes. Interesting mystery is Jonah.
“Jonah”
Speaking of interesting guys named Jonah, there is another titular sharing that name much more famous than Mr. Katz. Arguably the most fascinating part of the tale of Jonah is left out of the Bible and put into focus here: what went down there in the belly of the whale? Turns out that he made a bed and table from coral, used lobster pincers to hang up his clothes and enjoyed a brief whirlwind romance with a mermaid.
“Monsieur Gaston”
Interesting in a different sort of way is the title figure of this poem. It appears to be acidly satiric and possibly pointed at some actual individual, but unless one is familiar with the backstory that element would be meaningless. One need not know the truth to find M. Gaston worth reading and actually it may improve the situation because what is most fascinating about this person for whom everyone predicted a “bad end” to being the person without whom a “Minister of a certain department does not move” is the information that has been left.
“Prosecutor”
No name for this title character. Perhaps because there is not enough room; the entire poem comprises just four lines and the first line is just the word “Holy” repeated thrice in repetition. This short little verse all leads to a pithy comedic rhyme, but since the rhyme is with the word prosecutor and since the point of the rhyme seems more bitter than lighthearted, the poem gives off a definite vibe suggesting this is not one of the poet’s more beloved characters.
