By Bob Boldt
[Preamble: If a poem requires explanation, then it is a failure. Of course, even “The Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock” still remains opaque to many (if not most) readers. I had hoped that, if the reader were unable to draw any connection between the images in the poem below, they might at least be entertained by its juxtaposition of images and my take on appearance and reality and how the effigy of a woman’s torso can house a scorpion. I will say, though, that the “Marienbad” reference is to the 1961 film Last Year in Marienbad by Alain Resnais.
“She’s not doing so well…,” came the voice
trailing longingly down Marienbad Hall.
The distant roar of jets was overheard overhead.
In the warehouse,
A giant,
gaudy,
Plasticine effigy of Trump’s head
darkly meditated on the past Mardi Gras
the last It would ever witness.
Nearby
the empty headless torso of his spouse
suffered the occupation of a scorpion and a sparrow’s nest.
“Witness?” she asked as she sat down to teach sailing
to old men awaiting dust.
| Copyright © 2020 by Bob Boldt |
Indeed, fully as entertaining as I half-remember Resnais’ film being when I saw it some 58 years ago.
ReplyDeleteI looked at the trailer for the film, only to realize (of course!) that “half-remembered” is off by several factors (I hardly remembered anything at all). And the trailer offered insufficient information (over and above its hype) for a more informed reading of this poem, which remains for me, unfortunately, a question mark at best. But maybe that’s its point (or part of it)? The trailer did emphasize that the film raises questions above doing anything else. Did the purported tryst of the previous summer really happen? Was it a case of mistaken identity? Was the man crazy, a seducer?
DeleteDidn't see the movie--but the image of scorpions and a sparrow's nest: bravo!
ReplyDelete