Tuesday 30 October 2007

the shout of an ordinary man

Like nothing on this earth
I'm again breathless,
float above your means.
No time can silence us
yet I'm again speechless .....
drift above yourself

love me love me
love me till i die

A cordial arrangement
it's the blessed two
I was once lonely.
Fear not the wind
but the seething sun.....
never mind never mind

love me love me
love me till i die

Monday 22 October 2007

Fellini Friends and Flikes

He is tall, flamboyent
with a storytellers' tongue.
He has a dozen habits on full display.

There is a von Trapp tilt
to his hat
and just underneath he wears
a mesmerising glint.

Always curious
Always irreverent
and charming to the bone ..... Paul.

He runs the old shop
(and I love old shops you know)
that houses 16mm classics
and dusty tins
of Fellini firsts
and things like that.

Paul screens them once a month
in a small room
above a resteraunt
in Kings Cross.

A few of us go.

Estelle is there
the grande old dame
and so is Lester
the saucy old boho.
Look ... there's Salmacis and Alter.
Dr Death and Denise.
The Butcher, Inventoria,
the mandarin couple from Sorrento,
the Czech boys and Robert.

Greetings whip about the room
like the spring breeze
that whistles up the back stairway.
I hear glasses clink above monthly goings on.

A makeshift screen,
some crabby old chairs
and a couple of speakers
defying gravity on the windowsill.
Outside on the street ....
it's worlds away.

Paul finishes preparing
reels and cannisters
then flails into action
at the front of the room
announcing proudly ....
arms and all ....
"ladies and gentleman ......
if you would be so kind"
He regally nods at the chairs.
And we sit.

What will it be?
It's always a classic.
I bet a black and white beauty.

The lights are dimmed
and a 16mm beam shoots
above our heads
scattering the dancing dust.
The whir of the projector....
that dying art buzz.

6....5....4....
This is how a film should be seen
says Inventoria in my ear.
I nod agreement.
3....2....1....

Aahh I know this one.
I love it.
"Umberto D"
Di Sicas' greatest film,
some would say,
on the human condition.
An old and dignified man struggles to cope
in post war Rome.... with his best friend ...
a dog terrier ..... Flike.

As with all Italian cinema
of this era
each frame is breathtaking,
lovingly shot
with an artists eye.
A masterpiece.

We all dissappear for 90 minutes...
taken away by lights on a screen
away ..... far away.

And then the lights are back up
the room erupts in applause
as proud Paul takes a bow.

There's some cake and mutterings.
Salmacis and I talk about shadows
and how they aint in
movies much these days.

Paul remains tight lipped
about next months surprise
as the Czech boys recommend
to him a Slovak tragedy.

Inventoria catches my eye
and it's time to go home.
We slip down the stairway
and onto our bikes ....
lets call them "flikes"

We see Paul
as he leans out the window
to wave us farewell
or maybe .....
to just grab some air.

Tuesday 16 October 2007

an essay on a fruitful life

Another day in the sun
Another neon overload
Another sacred second passes
Another day to get it right this time