deepundergroundpoetry.com
Fellini's Strada of Broken Dreams
Fate is all I am.
A post-script left in a taxi,
Unpaid fare to a brief encounter.
Bereaved flowers seek their fallen petals,
Mountains crease behind the crepuscular sun.
Send back the clowns,
For they are not needed now.
Hang all the clowns,
Their painted smiles
Washed away by the rain.
Travellers in the dream trade,
Reality shunts at forty-four frames a second
Like fighters banking in an old war film.
Stage fright, at last in the spotlight,
Cast finally,
As a corpse.
Fade to dark
A post-script left in a taxi,
Unpaid fare to a brief encounter.
Bereaved flowers seek their fallen petals,
Mountains crease behind the crepuscular sun.
Send back the clowns,
For they are not needed now.
Hang all the clowns,
Their painted smiles
Washed away by the rain.
Travellers in the dream trade,
Reality shunts at forty-four frames a second
Like fighters banking in an old war film.
Stage fright, at last in the spotlight,
Cast finally,
As a corpse.
Fade to dark
Published 5th Jul 2022
Author's Note
ERULGCT 154. Uma xx Inspired (I think) by Fellini's film 8 1/2. Not to be confused with 9 1/2 Weeks. What does it all mean?
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likes 3
reading list entries 2
comments 4
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Commenting Preference:
The author encourages honest critique.
6th Jul 2022 1:42am
The stylisation using stage/set directions here is very powerful. That last line is just about perfect. It reminds me of the end of Sarah Kane’s play 4.48 Psychosis, which is really just a poem. Your poem as a whole walks a fine line between the profound and the absurd, humour and pathos. The verse in bold makes me think of public executions in fascist Italy.
6th Jul 2022 10:33pm
Many thanks for the insightful commentary. It formed in those moments before sleep and woke again by breakfast. Not sure it stands alone as a piece of poetry.
9th Jul 2022 5:41pm
I like what CR had to say, I was also drawn to the sense of direction that is given in reading a play, it is something I utilize to add a sense of visual direction to a piece, with a sense of command about it. You have imbued the visual imagery with a terrific sense of our haunted lives, I also agree about the sense of the profound and absurd, humor and gravitas.
12th Jul 2022 6:09pm
Appreciated. As stated above, not even sure this constitutes a poem. Not even sure I actually like the film to be candid. It just moved me awkwardly.
