Thursday, March 23, 2017

Blackthorne--Scene 61


image from maplesprings,com


Blackthorne

Cinemagenic Sixty-One

Cost

Good words are worth much, and
cost little.”--George Herbert.

1(sound cue) snare & bass drums, from rapid to
slow beats as the riders disappear.
2(medium wide shot) Buck with his big hands on 
his hips, Johnny with his strong arms folded.
3(sound cue) piano & harmonica.
4(medium close-up) Buck: There it is.
He pulled his flat black hat low over his angry eyes.
5(two shot) the Eagle remained stoic staring after
the intruders. Buck strolled over to the burlap grub
sack, and sliced off four more thick strips of bacon.
6(tight close up) His thin sharp skinning knife slicing
off the lovely fatty meat.
7(sound cue) Cheewa whining.
8(two shot) Buck & the black dog: Here, big fella, you
might as well have a treat--as he held out a slice.
9(close-up) Cheewa’s soft mouth as he accepted meat.
10(sound cue) dog munching.
11(widen two shot) Buck returned to the campfire. He
flipped out the old burned bacon, much to the canine’s
delight. Buck added wood to the fire, & squatted beside
it. He dropped the fresh bacon into the blackened fry pan.
12(sound cue) bacon sizzling.
13(tighten two-shot) Johnny appeared at the fire, and he 
squat down midst the blue cooking smoke, his arms still
folded. They had a quiet moment. Johnny picked up a
twig & began drawing glyphs in the dirt.
14(close-up) Johnny, over Buck’s shoulder, speaking
softly: You know, we could have ended this right here.
Buck: Maybe so.
15(sound cue) harmonica & cello.
16(close-up) the Eagle: I was plenty pissed off. I think
we could have taken them
17(voice-over) Buck: The price was too high.
18(close-up) Johnny, over Buck’s shoulder: Were you
afraid of them--or was your fear for my safety?
19(close-up) Buck, his eyes softening: Both.
20(two-shot) angle on Johnny, as he snorted: Tell me,
will you actually do as you said? Will you play nice
with with that fat cinche hefe?
Buck: You tell me--what would have happened if we
had killed the Bronsons?”
21(close up) Johnny, grinning slyly: They would be
dead, & their trouble with them. We would have 
burned their bodies, then maybe got drunk.
22(close-up) Buck: I like your conclusions, fierce one--
but what about the wranglers? We would have had 
to kill all five of them--a terrible cost.
23(two-shot) Johnny, over Buck’s shoulder: A price
I would have paid.  None of them were innocent.
24(close-up) Buck: It is a sad thing--peace is harder
than war. What we do must have consequences. I
don’t think I could build my rancho upon those burned  
bodies. I came home to build a new life. So, if it is at
all possible, I have to wage an ugly peace. Bronson
is ten kinds of asshole. Today went to him. We will
have to see about tomorrow.
25(two-shot) Johnny, over Buck’s shoulder: God damn,
my Buck, this is tough steak to swallow.
26(close up) Buck: We both know this is not over--it is
just the beginning.
27(medium close up) the Eagle forced a tight-lipped smile,
and nodded yes.
28(sound cue) Indian seed rattle over blues guitar slide. 



Glenn Buttkus

Posted over at dVerse Poets Pub OLN

9 comments:

Thotpurge said...

peace is harder than war... indeed. A lovely read.

Kim M. Russell said...

I love the black dog's name, Cheewa - does it have a special meaning?

Frank Hubeny said...

Good moral about having to live with killing the wranglers, assuming they succeeded and weren't themselves killed.

Sanaa Rizvi said...

Such depth and poignancy in this installment Glenn! Especially love; "It is a sad thing--peace is harder than war. What we do must have consequences." Beautifully executed.

lillianthehomepoet.wordpress.com said...

"Peace is harder than war." Great line here.
And I love the snare & bass drums, going from rapid to slow beats as the riders disappear...I can hear it and see it!

I missed the horse in this one! :) I really want to see this movie!

brudberg said...

Yes it's hard to find a way to win in a place where guns are power... maybe bring in lawyers:-) Look forward to see how they will win peace with such neighbors.

Marina Sofia said...

Sometimes you have to lose a battle to win the war, right...

Grace said...

Sometimes you have to...it all depends on how much you value peace or ugly peace Glenn ~ I like this chapter ~

Anonymous said...

Your voice on audio always rings beauty in your work and you my friend are the beat poet of our generation. So, good to read you again. :)