Poem No. 2: Class is an Archipelago

Class, in the way we talk about it,
a categorization of similar things
brought together by money -
or any other kind of capital,
is easy to fake. No?

But for those who are sharp,
who've been whittled down to their
breaking backs by manual,
intellectual, emotional,
spiritual, physical,
mental, dare I say
labor, will see
through.

The mind is
a quick blade.
And each pose
is noted.

Class, in the way I like to fantasize,
is like an archipelago. A cluster
of things visually dissimilar,
high, low, above, below,
seen and unseen -
various shapes
textures
styles.

Of, and in
its own;
in and
of itself.

The class of which I speak
is presence alone: an appearance
that speaks for its labor and
there is no need
to mark its meaning;
a crude value manifested from
talks walks clothes
taste opinions interests
etc / et. al

The class of which I speak
does not care - for this
cannot be taught, or earned
cannot be bought, or borrowed
cannot be ritualized
cannot be inundated by habit.

It is experienced by being
beat - dead beat - beat all the time
until nothing remains but the darkness.
That empty beautiful blackness
waiting, just waiting
for someone like you
to light it up.

An English Honeymoon: Day IV, Part II

After our morning of shopping at Oxford Street and lounging at the cafe, we went back to our hotel and napped with the Kensington breeze coming in through the open windows, the rooftops outside bare and empty, the occasional bird landing, clouds gauzy and light in the blue open sky. We woke up refreshed much later, got dressed again, and walked towards Portobello Road. Our destination: the movie theater Electric Cinema. We passed fancy shops and boutiques, coffee shops and delis... and finally we turned onto Portobello Road.

Everything had a time warpy feel to it. The stores seemed to come from all eras from the '50s to present day. There were lots of folks smoking and hanging out outside as the stores closed.

The only movie showing that night, much to Dan's delight, was Avengers: End Game, which we had already seen in the theaters back home in the States. Though it wasn't my first choice of movie, I didn't mind seeing it again, especially as Electric Cinema seemed so awesome from what I'd read about it. And it was!

But first, before the theater opened, we had to get some dinner. The Electric Cinema Restaurant is located right next to the theater - the restaurant is actually part of the same building - and it is renowned for it's amazing food. It's a '50s style diner, American style, but dim and English-y. It kind of looks like a fallout shelter. There weren't too many people in there, some guys hanging out at the bar, some groups in the booths, the open grill flickering with oil and steam and fire. We got cozy and got our drinks and food (gin for me, beer for Dan) and as an appetizer: TRUFFLED DEVILED EGGS. We splurged. But it was worth it.

Afterwards, we sat and chatted (again, no one was rushing us out to leave) and then headed to the theater part of the building. We gasped and laughed with excitement. It was the nicest movie theater we had ever been in, the most comfortable, and even offered cozy blankets from inside the footstool (as Michael Caine's voice informed us over the speakers). We replenished our beverages and settled in to view the movie. 

It had this Victorian - '20s style vibe I enjoyed... as well as the enormous armchairs, side tables, and lamps. It was cool to hear Brits laughing at cheesy American jokes. When we left, around 1 am, the moon was bright as we followed our previous path back towards our hotel. The moon shone above us, there was no one in the streets, the lampposts each shed their electricity on the empty sidewalks as we walked along. Then briefly, we heard a group of people singing from an upstairs apartment somewhere. They were really happy and cheerful and loud, and that energy passed on right to us as we began to plan the next day. 

- F

Selfies

I sent this picture to Dan a couple days ago to say hi from work and his response was: "Wow. You're gorgeous." ...which gave me the impetus to share this... also, I love this new gray sweater:

Here's another one that I'm proud of because I'm wearing less makeup these days and it feels really good:

I hope my face brings you smiles, as many faces do for me. I don't care if that's weird, which my saying so very well may be. Also... looking at these I think it may be time to work on my eyebrows 😼

Hope you have a great Thursday,

F

Night of 1,000 Jack-o’-lanterns

This year, the Night of 1,000 Jack-'o-lanterns hosted by the Chicago Botanic Garden (see this link for more information: https://www.chicagobotanic.org/halloween) was partitioned into several categories, a few of which included: Dia de los Muertos, Stories that will haunt you, Animalia, and Gargoyles of Chicago.

Here are some photos I took of the jack-o’-lanterns when I went. I also had the pleasure of watching some carvers do their work. One had his headphones in while he chipped away at a pumpkin, the other sat and spoke with the guests as he worked. It was a fantastic evening, and I'm in awe of the work that these carvers do. 

Please read this article if you want to know a bit about the history and folklore behind the jack-o’-lantern: https://www.merriam-webster.com/words-at-play/the-history-of-jack-o-lantern

from Dia de los Muertos:

from Animalia: 

from Stories That Will Haunt You:

from Fantasy, Magic & Monsters:

from Gargoyles of Chicago:

I hope you enjoy looking at these...

- F