Director's Cut OR Feeding Imagination in 3D Stereo Surround

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I don’t know about you but some movies (especially gay movies) have had me wriggling in my seat...with more than just wishful thinking...!

DIRECTOR’S CUT or FEEDING IMAGINATION IN 3D STEREO SURROUND

A heat’s on, dripping

from the screen; sweet seduction,

as a celluloid carnality

slips into sub-reality mode,

sure to get under the skin

of what passes for conventional

identity

Brushing a stranger’s thighs

in a hard seat, weaving dangerous lies,

in a cold sweat…

Movie lovers doing okay, 

their wonders to perform, overt sexuality

turning blue buffs on before and after

the lights go down;

Day returns to Babylon

outside office hours; madding crowd

booking into film theatres

(alias Smith and Jones) always up

for the best lines,

leading roles, directing the action, 

soul for soul

Close shot: penetration,

ecstasy (love’s rolling stone)

Beautiful people, amen.

Small sacrifice, a tell-tale stain

on integrity’s underwear

(will clean) - Cinema’s jest,

illusion

Copyright R. N. Taber 2000; rev. 2013

[Note: An earlier version of this poem appears in  Love and Human Remains by R. N. Taber, Assembly Books, 2001.]

A Short (Gay) History of Cinema

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

I visited the National Film Theatre on London’s South Bank last night; it is hosting a season of Montgomery Clift films throughout February. I really enjoyed watching a young Elizabeth Taylor and Clift in A Place in the Sun. I have also pre-booked to see them again in the American Civil War epic, Raintree County and Suddenly, Last Summer later this month. Both were very beautiful people as well as incredibly talented actors. Clift was gay, of course, so I was able to give my imagination a free rein…

I am feeling a little low and tense at the moment. I see my prostate cancer consultant again on Feb 27^th and will have a cataract removed on March 1^st. Fingers crossed that all goes well…

Oh, but there’s nothing like a trip to the cinema when you’re feeling low!

A SHORT (GAY) HISTORY OF CINEMA

He stepped out of a movie,

came and sat next to me where I was alone

between rows of heads

so close together the screen was in pieces

(just like I was…)

He put his lips to my ear

and told me no one has a monopoly on love

so why don’t I do something

about sitting here on my own, torn in pieces

by strangers

He put an arm around me

letting his tongue caress the lobe of my ear

gently tugged at my chin

till I was being sucked into the whites of eyes

like a priest’s silk

He kissed me on the lips

gently prising mine apart to let in his tongue

while tender hands explored

nether regions of a body I scarcely recognized

as my own

Oh, but I responded as eagerly

as the child hugged by a relative come to stay,

but never long enough

to put together all the pieces of the family jigsaw,

make it whole

He returned to the movie

where music was playing, credits already showing,

leaving me hungering for more

where I sat in pieces, but coming together courtesy

of strangers

Copyright R. N. Taber 2013

It's Magic

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/R._N._Taber

Not so long ago I was waxing lyrical about Doris Day. A reader who has some kind words to say about my villanelles has asked if I would write one about Doris. I have done my best although no poem can do justice to this amazing woman. I’d like to dedicate the poem to her.  Some people hate villanelles, of course, but I have a passion for them. I love the discipline they impose on the poet. So perhaps this poetic form is not inappropriate given that acting and singing, too, require discipline.

Gay or straight, don't we all have our favourite icons, inspiring/reassuring/comforting us for one reason or another? Oh, and why not ...? We all need that feel-good factor for which we ordinary mortals rarely if ever get the chance to thank those from all walks of performance art who work hard at providing it.

Oh, and Doris was born on this day, April 4th 1922 ...which makes here ...who cares? Thank you Doris for making so many people (like me) feel happy just as we stand on the brink of feeling, well  ... otherwise.

Photo: Doris Day (taken from Wikipedia)

IT’S MAGIC

Oh, how I love Doris Day,

singer, actress, gem;
she takes my breath away

Voice now bright and gay,
now like a lovely hymn;
oh, how I love Doris Day

Sparkling, come what may,
as a clear mountain stream;
she takes my breath away

No matter where I may lay
me down, she’s my dream;
oh, how I love Doris Day

She’s all the best critics say,
sheer magic for all time;
she takes my breath away

Though blond hair turn grey,
the spirit shall never dim;
oh, how I love Doris Day,
she takes my breath away

Copyright R. N. Taber 2010