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constant towers

Photo by Lee Friedlander, 1977
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An imagined conversation between Father Francis Duffy and Yul Brynner as the King of Siam




hard,eh?
to be rooted
planted at the crossroads


watching the whole world 
wig out and fly in your face 
refusing to kowtow


face forward, mate
stare down the dawn
with eyes like campfires


let ' em see
let 'em know
never were men braver


Rene ~ January 2012





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Comments

  1. Brian MillerJanuary 8, 2012 at 6:23 PM

    never were men braver? you ever seen traffic in NYC? yeah you have to be pretty brave....

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  2. UnknownJanuary 8, 2012 at 6:30 PM

    ah ha! true. but this piece is a pep talk between the two subjects. It's not meant in any way as a slight against men today. who are very brave.

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    Replies
    1. Brian MillerFebruary 25, 2012 at 9:54 PM

      smiles...i hear your pep talk for sure...smiles. great to see you at poetics...

      Delete
  3. Michelle My BellJanuary 8, 2012 at 9:38 PM

    Oh my sweet Rene,how you get our imaginations working. In church today, Matthew looked up at me and asked,"Mommy, do you think my toys are talking to eachother since no one is home?" LOL Yeah, you know what he's been watching! hahaha! All in the inaginations of our minds... Lovely :)

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  4. Harshad MehtaJanuary 8, 2012 at 9:58 PM

    Very imaginative!

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  5. KaraJanuary 9, 2012 at 1:40 PM

    "with eyes like campfires" -- I love this.

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  6. UnknownJanuary 9, 2012 at 2:26 PM

    I do stuff like this all the time... create scenarios in the least likely of ways. The tight write, spareness, direct attack on topic make this powerful.

    http://www.kimnelsonwrites.com/2012/01/08/lee-me-a-fantasy/

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  7. signed...bkmJanuary 9, 2012 at 4:16 PM

    Loved Yul Byrnner..he was perfect in this film...he was cool when shaved heads were not cool...bkm

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  8. AnonymousJanuary 9, 2012 at 11:31 PM

    a stare down that can go forever

    days of cohan

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  9. Anna LeflerJanuary 9, 2012 at 11:38 PM

    I love this!

    Happy new year to you, Rene!

    XOXO

    Anna

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  10. Kat MortensenJanuary 10, 2012 at 5:33 PM

    Now obviously, I know who Yul is, but who is Father Duffy? (and me a Catholic!)

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  11. Kat MortensenJanuary 10, 2012 at 5:34 PM

    Neglected to say that I thought this was a pretty cool take on a difficult prompt.

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  12. UnknownJanuary 10, 2012 at 6:02 PM

    Kat Fr. Duffy of the Fighting 69 is the statue to the left of Mr. Brynner

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  13. AnonymousJanuary 10, 2012 at 10:00 PM

    I like how your mind works. very creative conversation between the two.

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  14. Wayne PitchkoJanuary 11, 2012 at 12:29 AM

    nice take on the prompt....thanks for sharing your words

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  15. Crystal PistolJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:26 AM

    "eyes like campfires" what cool imagery! I like the idea of a man with eyes like campfires. :)

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  16. hyperCRYPTICalJanuary 11, 2012 at 2:58 PM

    A fine write.

    Anna :o]

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  17. AnonymousJanuary 11, 2012 at 5:28 PM

    Love it. I can see them standing with shoulders back and eyes a blazin!

    http://charleslmashburn.wordpress.com/2012/01/10/the-sun-came-up-again-4/

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  18. Tess KincaidJanuary 11, 2012 at 8:32 PM

    Nice write...I love-love the word kowtow, by the way...

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  19. HelenJanuary 11, 2012 at 10:55 PM

    Liked eavesdropping on that conversation ...

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  20. TrellissimoJanuary 12, 2012 at 5:00 PM

    refusing to kowtow

    That's bravery...

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  21. Feisty CroneJanuary 12, 2012 at 9:11 PM

    Quite a conversation!

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  22. Tumblewords:January 12, 2012 at 11:20 PM

    Wonderful!

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  23. jbJanuary 13, 2012 at 7:39 PM

    Love it Rene... it has been a long time. Happy to see you are still writing and still so wonderful. Happy New Year love.

    Huggs
    JB

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  24. AnonymousJanuary 14, 2012 at 11:48 AM

    I think at some point Yul would have dropped his Ten Commandments line "He will hear me. For I am Egypt."

    im sure of it

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  25. Frank WatsonFebruary 25, 2012 at 7:36 PM

    I like this idea of a statue and a statuesque portrait talking to each other

    ReplyDelete
  26. ClaudiaFebruary 26, 2012 at 6:57 AM

    nice...enjoyed the conversation...glad you were there to overhear it...smiles

    ReplyDelete

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