A Poem by a Good Friend

Blame Bogart
by David Starnes (2003)

To those I've damaged, those
whose hearts I felt too hard, I fell
too hard for, darkening their view,
I love no longer for the sake of fire.

Blame Bogart, Brando, Clift and Dean,
blame cinema, the thrall
of make believe, the sainted looks
of heroes, unheroic, bound to lose.

To those I've lied to, died
inside for, trading honesty
for honey, right for ripeness on the vine,
I live no longer for the dying scenes.

Blame Bogart, Brando, Clift and Dean,
blame movie screens, the framed
persuasions of a manhood, images
quicksilvered over, quickening my age.

To those I've lost, I've found
no longing worth the distance there,
no having dear enough to hold.
Forgive me, those who gave me all, for taking more.

From Original Skin by David Starnes, 2004