CALIFORNIA 1924.

A man tries to get an old woman to remember a photgraph she had taken in 1924.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Balboa Beach, Long 
Beach, California,

1924.

Remember that? You
Was one of the sweet
Flappers in that bright

Bathing costume and
Albert didn’t like
It, said it showed too

Much, showed too much of
Your fine legs and he
Didn’t want other

Guys looking at what
Was strictly speaking
His to view and not

Some other schmuck and
They took the photo
And you smiled amongst

Those other dames as
If it were your darn
Birthday all over

Again and the chance
Of meeting that big
Movie star, the one

You dreamed of at night
And for whom Albert
Was a rather poor

Substitute for and
Even when you made
Love with Albert, it

Was the movie star
Guy who you dreamed was
There in the bed with

You, giving you the
Kisses and the holds
And the warm touches

And the dame next to
You muttered something,
But it was lost on

You and you just kept
On smiling and tried
To remember to

Put the hands just so
And to hope and pray that
Some guy some where’d see

The photo and pick
You out and take you
To the top, but they

Never did and poor
Albert had to do
And so did you and

The photo aged, went
Out of fashion, but
Some guy found it years

Later and wrote and
Said, is that dame still
Around, that sweet young

Flapper or is she
Dead? Remember that
Photo in Long Beach?

The shoot? No? Maybe
Tomorrow you might,
Maybe never. Sleep

Now sugar, rest sweet
Flapper as the moon
Shines, smile at the night.

Reviews

[just rose.]

This is incredibly well done. I love the style and respond to it very instinctively, because what is rather eerie and amazing is that I did an entire series of poems in a very similar narrative style about 6 or 7 years ago based on old photographs ... there is a whole story behind why that I won't bore you with here ... how utterly serendipitous. I will post them. They're called Daguerreotypes. I hope you will have a look.