But Could You?

I blurred at once the chart of trite routine
by splashing paint with one swift motion.
I showed upon a plate of brawny glutin
the slanting cheekbones of the ocean
Upon the scales of tinny fishes
new lips summoned, though yet mute.
But could you
                  play
                          right to the finish
a nocturne on a drainpipe flute?

Vladimir Mayakovsky