All the Old Gods dead and still,
Sweet laughter muted,
Dust their only beloved.
...I have a dream,
that one day
little British schoolboys
and little British schoolgirls
everywhere
will RISE UP
against their evil headmasters,
ridiculous teachers
and sour-faced cooks
and put them all to the compass!
I have a dream...
-Amen!
-Yes, Lord, yes!
...I envision a world
without stale popcorn balls,
sticky peppermint drops,
dead Elmos and Furbies
and garland on Christmas trees...
-Da, da, tovarisch!!!
-Tell it, tell it!
...I envision that same world peopled
with freshly bathed, perfumed
and powdered demi-mondaines
who will possess brand new copies
of Zola's Nana
to be read comfortably
in their lofty, gaudy salons,
and their old, severely soiled copies
of the same book
will be given gratis
to any of the unwashed, half-naked putains
who want them (as a learning tool)...
-Oh yes, Lord, yes!
-Da, da! Amen!
-Tell us more, tell us more!
...But I also see our world
here and now
peopled with many
a Petit Gervais
casting about anxiously and fruitlessly
in search of his stolen
forty-sous piece
and many a fragile little
Edward Gorey-ish girl
weeping piteously over
the loss of her
favourite hair ribbon,
sunk in despair,
her small hands covering
her tear-stained doll face.
NO! THESE THINGS MUST NOT BE!...
-YES, YES! TELL IT, TELL IT!
OH, LORD, HELP THOSE POOR
CHILDREN, PLEASE HELP THEM,
LORD!
...People,
we cannot rely on the flared nostrils
of Rudolph Valentino
or the soft, juicy nipples
of Sally Rand
ANY MORE!...
-YES, YES!
-THAT'S RIGHT!
...FILIPPO LIPPI AND N.C. WYETH ARE DEAD!
KAHLO IS DEAD!
EVEN ARTEMESIA GENTILESCHI
IS DEAD!(maybe)
WE MUST NOW BE ABLE TO
COME TOGETHER,
FORGE A NEW PATH,
MILK OUR OWN COWS,
LOOK UP, STAND UP,
AND MARCH PROUDLY, GLORIOUSLY
AND RATHER EFFORTLESSLY
INTO THE FUTURE!...
-AMEN, LORD, AMEN!
-TELL US MORE, TELL US MORE!
-YES, TELL US MORE!
...No.
And stop calling me 'Lord'...
DB/c1996,2014
