Friday, 22 June 2018

Camera

I am envious that the greeks could be so much more precise 
When talking about love 
Eros, agape, philia, pragma, ludus, philautia 
How did I not know that 'play' is a form of love? 
And so is 'value'
Eros sits by my side and demands attention although 
He cannot see me 
I fix the blue in my son's eyes 
They draw me in like the unsettled ocean in Tarkovsky's film
Temple pressed against the hard bone of his skull 
Love - 
Although he cannot see the detours I am taking
He seems to trust me across many spaces
And he begins to look more and more like a boy I once knew 
Debate team articulated 
Skillful, graceful, still 
There is a carnival in the city of monks and scientists 
Why not step into a dream? 
Simulated stars 
Trails of light
guide me to The Camera
camera means room 
its round shape is a longing for the columnated womb of the Pantheon 
these cobbled streets remind me of Hermanstadt 
Instinct leads the way 
Extravagant light paintings on vast canvases of stone 
At the gate I stop to stare at stars 
And trace the music to its source 
Into the temple 
I am an unexpected guest at this carnival 
But someone gives me a pass 
To Gallery 14 
Where people with beautiful minds
Unperturbed by the ostentatious sensuality 
of the Greek statues 
tell stories about Venice and Nasa and 
I look on at the Romanian lecturer
And wonder if she feels at home here.
Would she resent me addressing her in our own language?
Would she feel exposed? 
I feel proud of both of us
To have travelled a longer way than anyone else here would realise 
to have followed dreams that could barely be dreamed