Paper Moon in my dream you are up late with the pellucid glow of tv on your face and flipping listlessly through the channels when it comes on, flickers black and white. watch this one; it's important. in the story is a con man making a living off lies and for some reason you keep watching. your eyes don't really recognize it. somewhere, in the back of your mind, some part of you grows aware, especially when you see the girl whose stockings keep falling down; a sullen, obstinate, clever girl. the lies you told me were of the best kind and i watched you and learned from you and we lived off delicious banquets of lies. because poets and storytellers are the most honest kinds of liars. so don't fall asleep before the movie ends, notice the way the con man and the little girl love each other fiercely and angrily; this is not Lolita; it's not a story that feels sorry for itself. many days later it may occur to you that the girl's name started with A and the man's name started with M. many weeks months years later in my next dream we will be sitting side by side on a sofa watching the black and white flicker over our faces. and then you will know all those times what i meant when i screamed-- "I want my two hundred dollars!" |
Index: Blooming/Dying Seedling/Growing Paper Moon |