Stardust Dreams
I awaken into stardust dreams, sprinkled
upon my ear,
ghost train whistling into the darkening air,
I learn to love, to let loose weary fear.
luster
of dreams whispers. a woman in purple nightgown.
voice like too many joints, presses me to
tender breast
I awaken into stardust dreams, upon aged
ears.
The dreams she sprinkles across my weary
age, so close,
so vivid, they consume the chalkboards of
my mind,
and I learn to love, to let loose weary
fear.
I wander happily in a world of poodle
skirts and Elvis,
repression disguised as beauty, and she
tucks me tender,
I waken into stardust dreams, sprinkled
across my ears.
cue the projection’s rapid switch,
in Russia I wander amongst Tchaikovsky’s
Pathetique. Carriage wheels stately.
Madame Pathetique, I learn to love, to let
loose weary fear.
morning hisses in my weary ear. Once
again.
I become a slave to reality. A rhythm
without rhythm,
but tonight, I awaken into stardust dreams
upon flesh-worn ears,
and I learn to love, to
let loose weary fear.
The poodle skirt is a memorable symbol of 1950s Americana, popular among teenage girls who wore them at school dances or as everyday wear. Older women also wore them, though usually with more elegant abstract patterns and designs. A wide swing felt skirt of a solid color, it displayed a design appliquéd or transferred to the fabric; the design was often a coiffed poodle, but sometimes it was a flamingo, flower, or hot rod car. Hemlines were to the knee or just below it. Juli Lynne was a popular singer during World War II who designed her stage wardrobe even though she could not sew. After the war she married film editor Philip Charlot and decided to enter the fashion business. In 1947 she was invited to a Christmas party in Los Angeles, but her husband was unemployed and she had no money, but her mother owned a felt factory. Since she still did not know how to sew, she cut a circle out of felt, allowing her to make a complete circle skirt without seams, and added some whimsical Christmas motif appliqués. After the holidays she substituted the holiday design with dachshunds and later poodles, and she also added poplin dresses for summerwear.
ReplyDeleteThe illustration with the poem features Elvis Presley, the "king of rock and roll," who began recording in 1954 and went on to sell 1 billion records and star in 33 films.
In 1893, 9 days before his death, Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky conducted the 1st performance of his Symphony No. 6 in B minor, Opus 74, also known incorrectly as the Pathétique Symphony; it was actually the Pateticheskaya (Russian for passionate/emotional), not the Pathétique (french for solemn/emotive.