Early Cinema

old man Banks was born

on the 23^rd of July.

at his funeral,

standing on the second row in

under artificial-cold-church-light,

i picked up the white-paper-pamphlet

containing the hymns, and chronology

of the morning’s proceedings.

on the cover was a laminated oval

photograph in full colour.

and smiling back at me,

like a single star shining in

nocturnal

sky,

was old man Banks.

underneath. his full name.

JAMES CECIL BANKS

in a showy necklace

of emboldened ebony print.

his d.o.b July 23^rd 1923.

below that,

and to the side . . .

the date of the funeral . . .

November 23^rd.

i was living in a Robert Anton Wilson

novel right then,

like Hagbard Celine

in Illuminatus Trilogy,

contemplating the mounting 23s,

whilst standing next to my father

Mr. M. Banks,

whose house number had been

number 23 -

Valley View Road

throughout my early upbringing,

when all of a sudden the Cannon said,

all frocked-in-cotton-white,

“now we are going to read psalm 23,”

and proceeded to,

“though i walk through the valley of the shadow of

death i will fear no evil . . .” 

etcetera etcetera . . . he

continued . . .

my eyeballs locked open. (bug-eyed and spooked).

and i started to look around at the family

standing in rows all stone-faced, somber, 

and grey,

some rheumy eyed, flowing tears too,

but this was all flowering inside my brain,

inside my world,

not theirs.

i felt like an animation in vivid technicolour

bedazzled by a background tune

of coincidental razzmatazz

superimposed with some modern-movie-technique

over a world where the friendly earth

folk stood,

in some black and white

celluloid scene -

 

 

like from early cinema   

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Reviews

[...]

. oh, this is just amazing, monsieur ... you so remind me of my life right now ... i feel like i am new york in the middle of new delhi ... plus ... i must confess ... i am a hindu by birth ... but just to duck rituals ... i converted and became a sufi ... now, whenever i am asked to participate in hindu rituals ... i say ... i'm sorry ... i am a muslim ... and no muslim would ever let me in because i was born a hindu and don't really follow any muslim rituals ... so, much like the narrator of this piece, i watch my life unravel as if i'm watching a film ... it's sad but it's fascinating too ... just because it's super quirky ... :) ...