“It’s not what they say when you are there, it’s what they whisper after you leave.” ~~ Actor - Errol Flynn ~~
Whispers as you hurriedly pass them by.
Whispers that can really make you cry.
Those whispers filled my head with doubt.
I didn’t realize what being poor was all about.
Whispers about the clothes that I wore.
Whispers as if it was a crime to be poor.
Rumors were rife in the school yard.
Those whispers really did make life hard.
Invited to parties, I didn’t want to go.
All snickering. Did they think I didn’t know?
I know bringing a gift of a potted plant wasn’t right.
Their whispers didn’t even wait till I was out of sight.
Whispers continued when I was a teen.
The rumors got worse the whispers were mean.
Slowly but surely, I overcame their sneers.
Learning to be proud of who I am over the years.
I met a man who loved me for who I am, I knew.
And how good it felt when he whispered, I love you.
I write of two-edged swords (that tired clichè)
as though this modern boy knew hilt from blade;
as if I had been taught of true swordplay,
not learned from movies Errol Flynn had made.
But plainly put, things work more than one way:
the lake that offers joy can also drown,
the sun that melts the wax can harden clay,
the fire that heats the meal burns houses down.
A hammer is adept at building things,
though hammer's claw might tear the same apart.
The kiss that first gave freedom to love's wings,
when given to another, broke my heart.
Two-edged clichès may give the reader pause -
I know firsthand the damage they can cause.
written 30 Apr 2022
E-yes
R-ead
R-ighteousness
O-f
L-iving
P-oem
O-n
R-eal
T-ime
U-nder
G-od
A-lmighty's
L-ook
Topic: Birthday of Errol Portugal (April 17)
Form: Vertical Monocrostic
(The Torre Vela is a prominent castle tower
at the "prow" of the Alhambra Palace, and
dominates the Spanish city of Granada.)
My lame-ass lips can't even draw
McDonalds milkshake through a straw:
and if I must
run for the bus,
I take an oxygen inhaler.
You like your house? I rent a trailer.
But yell it through the loudest-hailer:
I kissed Leila!
Some lucky guy looks like George Clooney,
while I resemble Mickey Rooney.
I'm such a shmuck,
if vampires suck,
then call me Vlad the (Bad) Impaler!
I guard my dough? Like a drunken sailor.
But study this at Yale, or Baylor:
I kissed Leila!
I'll never win that Golden Globe
for lounging in a silken robe
like Errol Flynn,
appearing in
a bedroom scene with young Liz Taylor:
my books won't sell like Norman Mailer:
my jokes are rustier and staler
than ol' Jed Clampett's cotton baler:
I'm a no-mark, lamester, loser, failer.
But shout it from the Torre Vela:
I kissed Leila!
(Torre Vela = prominent tower, part of
the Alhambra palace, Granada, Spain)
My lame-ass lips can't even draw
McDonalds milkshake through a straw:
and if I must
run for the bus,
I take an oxygen inhaler.
You like your house? I rent a trailer.
But yell it through the loudest-hailer:
I kissed Leila!
Some lucky guy looks like George Clooney,
while I resemble Mickey Rooney.
I'm such a shmuck,
if vampires suck,
then call me Vlad the (Bad) Impaler!
I guard my dough? Like a drunken sailor.
But study this at Yale, or Baylor:
I kissed Leila!
I'll never win that Golden Globe
for lounging in a silken robe
like Errol Flynn,
appearing in
a bedroom scene with young Liz Taylor:
my books won't sell like Norman Mailer:
my jokes are rustier and staler
than ol' Jed Clampett's cotton baler:
I'm a no-mark, lamester, loser, failer.
But shout it from the Torre Vela:
I kissed Leila!
Seven sorry soldiers
Hiding in a ditch
Errol caught some shrapnel
And then there were six
Six sorry soldiers
Barely glad to be alive
Barrett took a bullet
And then there were five
Five sorry soldiers
As brave as trained to be
Geoff and Tom stood on a bomb
That left only three
Three sorry soldiers
Curt and Blare and Ron
Blare was scalped from a turret
The other two went on
Two sorry soldiers
Ronald T and Curt
Curtis had to press right on
When Ronald B got hurt
Just one sorry soldier:
Curtis M McGee
One of seven not yet in heaven
That sorry soul is me
Errol Flynn a swashbuckler
he was also a wrangler
Jack Webb loved LA
gave us Joe Friday
Kevin Bacon brought us footloose
many years after Mother Goose
Humphrey Bogart had many roles
his acting on screen without holes
John Wayne cowboy and soldier
neither one was more bolder
I sat listening intently to the tune the band played
The words the singer sang were the nicest I had heard
Talked about hidden love, about the heartache and disaster
Then I saw him a dashing young man, my heart's beating faster
With down cast eyes I peer through dark lashes
Can see the guy I fancy, dare I do a few ankle flashes
This was so decadent in my day and age
Girls sat demurely smiling, never showing the urge
Saw his eyes wander to where my ankles lay bare
his flushing face showing that he did care.
I saw him slowly walk across the carpeted floor
I quickly rose from my chair went through the door
In the garden he found me, my nose in a rose
Please be careful he said, bees also love those
I smiled, dimples showing gathered my skirt
Tripped gaily down the path, giggling like a flirt
He touches my hand holding it close to his heart
Was when I woke up, with one heck of a start.
I had dreamed I was Garbo in a great film
My leading guy, was the dashing Errol Flynn.
Penned July 14 2015
I believe in miracles
Where you from you sexy thing
It started with a kiss
And so you win again
Everyone’s a winner baby
No doubt about it
So don’t stop it now
Heavens in the back seat of my Cadillac
Because I’m girl crazy
You put your love in me
You could have been a lady
Or a Disco queen
Sometimes it hurts to be a friend
But you know love is life
Come on Cheri baby
Give peace a chance, that’s right
I could have been born in the Ghetto
On confetti day
Are you getting enough happiness
Their were tears on the telephone yesterday
Emma, Emily
Your heart ache number nine
But you’re a mindless boogie
You love Brother Louie, that’s fine
Meet me down Cicero Park
I’ll put you together again
I gave you my heart yesterday
You can love me to sleep again
Man to man
It’s a changing world
Rumours all around
This life’s a mystery
You’re dancing with God now
© Copyright KC.Leake
18th May 2015
All Rights Reserved
A Tribute to the Late Errol Brown
RIP Brother
Valentino , Errol Flynn such stars of the silver screen
Garbo , Bacall and Davis movie stars that all have been
Grace Kelly had such beauty Audrey Hepburn was the Queen
Bogart ,Fonda and and Brando got hearts racing in every scene
Pacino , Redford and Poitier ,James Stewart and Steve McQueen
Elizabeth Taylor ,Sophia Loren ,original divas unforeseen
Generations passed and so do they ,no longer to make me dream
But the stars that gave us so much grace will always be on my screen
Errol Flynn played Robin Hood,
A displaced nobleman doing good.
Robin may have won all his fights
But is was Errol who looked good in the tights.
for Catie Lindseys 'you who...yo, clerihew' contest
When you stop to think about it…
I’m talking old movies with
All these old familiar faces
How names incredibly pop into your head
Bit players
In movies 70 and more years old
Edgar Buchanan
Leon Errol
Binnie Barnes
And strangely lots of names
Some of the more famous actors
Names escape memory
When you stop to think about it…..
How miraculous
They live
All dead but quite alive