Thursday, January 14, 2016

Poem for Thursday, Burnt, The Prestige, National Zoo

Belief in Magic
By Dean Young

How could I not?
Have seen a man walk up to a piano
and both survive.
Have turned the exterminator away.
Seen lipstick on a wine glass not shatter the wine.
Seen rainbows in puddles.
Been recognized by stray dogs.
I believe reality is approximately 65% if.
All rivers are full of sky.
Waterfalls are in the mind.
We all come from slime.
Even alpacas.
I believe we’re surrounded by crystals.
Not just Alexander Vvedensky.
Maybe dysentery, maybe a guard’s bullet did him in.
Nonetheless.
Nevertheless
I believe there are many kingdoms left.
The Declaration of Independence was written with a feather.
A single gem has throbbed in my chest my whole life
even though
even though this is my second heart.
Because the first failed,
such was its opportunity.
Was cut out in pieces and incinerated.
I asked.
And so was denied the chance to regard my own heart
in a jar.
Strange tangled imp.
Wee sleekit in red brambles.
You know what it feels like to hold
a burning piece of paper, maybe even
trying to read it as the flames get close
to your fingers until all you’re holding
is a curl of ash by its white ear tip
yet the words still hover in the air?
That’s how I feel now.

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It was not a very eventful Wednesday, which was chilly though sunny here, ending with a spectacular sunset which we saw while out walking (and also saw two bunnies, first time in a while!). I watched the Voyager episode I need to review this week ("Tuvix" -- still problematic but not boring for a minute), went food shopping (where are the Morningstar Farms buffalo chick'n patties it's been THREE WEEKS Giant), and watched Burnt with Adam, which we enjoyed though it's as close to Ratatouille as Avatar is to Pocahontas.

Paul made (fake) salisbury steak and potatoes for dinner, then Adam went to Christine's to watch Nausicaa, while the rest of us watched The Prestige long-distance with Cheryl in honor of David Bowie's Tesla. I will always love this movie; in addition to that phenomenal cast (Jackman, Bale, Johansson, Caine, Hall, et al) and a really tightly-written screenplay, it has the kinds of stunning visuals and plot twists the Nolans do so well with little of the violence. From the zoo last weekend:
















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