image borrowed in bing
Love Legions
Movies are always my passion,
even when women’s charms are not;
sitting in dark rooms my fashion,
my gaze on silver screens bear-caught--
capturing my soul in mid-trot
as Richard Burton’s deep voice sings
Shakespeare, the meaning so distraught,
lost in Welch accent’s silver wings.
I love you, Shane, said Joey so alone.
I love you too much not to say
a man needs madness, not dog bones,
in order to cut the rope some day
and be free, floating on blue bays.
I love you, Spartacus, father
I will never know, as the rays
of sunshine died without bother.
I love you, Antoninus, like
the son I will never ever meet,
driving the dagger deep as spike,
knowing soon they would pierce his feet,
cruxified by hundreds along streets,
with cobblestone faces and bloody tears,
little did he know he would meet
his son as souls fled in mirrors.
Dalton Trumbo without retreat
from blacklisting, got Kirk’s fine ears
burning with gratitude’s pure heat,
reinstating his name sans fear.
Glenn Buttkus
January 2012
This is my attempt to construct a French Ballade.
Would you like to hear the author to read this poem to you?
11 comments:
Great poem!
I like Welch voices too.
I miss you on my blog!!
xoxo
nice...love me a good movie and i'm just about out of order for 90 minutes...suffering and battling enemies with them...my kids always shake their head and say...mom, it's just a movie...relax...smiles
Glenn- your passion for film really comes across. A good film, when we relate to it, becomes much more than that- it becomes something we relate to, something we internalise. I loved the way you put this croos - with good wordplay and style
ah this is great man...takes me back to grammas house on sunday afternoons...we used to watch a lot of the old movies...they really new how to tell a story without all the cniematic magic...too bad we cant marry that with today...
I think you took on the form splendidly! (because I KNOW? NOT! rather because I too attempted!) And like Brian...I have some fond memories of the film, my Gram...and Sunday supper. Senses engaged!
Nice... and I love good movies too.
:)
Give me a warm blanket, hot tea and old movies any day. Well done.
wonderful pen, caught me instantly in my love for not just movies but classic film. Wonderful ~ Rose
I read this the other day, but guess I didn't comment. I kept having so many interruptions. I love this and understand the references as they are about movies. I've always loved the movies as did my mother. My grandfather was a projectionist in the silent era. Maybe it's the draw for me to Cinema Paradaiso or maybe Morricone's music. The envoi is interesting bringing up those dark 50s days. People my age always think the 50s were so "halcyon". In fact they were just so "hidden" and the news so deeply buried. Crime was as heinous then or worse. But people and police looked the other way.
Great use of the form here. A very modern take.
you know...i did not notice the form the other day...hey that says much of how well it is written...smiles.
I so appreciated this love ballade to movies! Obviously, you know them well but they remain fresh for you, and you made them seem alive here.
Wondering if you have seen The Artist yet. What a delight to see a modern movie done as a silent film...
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