flicker all night

after the popcorn
my favorite part of the show
when the lights go down
empty seats and spectator’s hair
like halos

the movie screen
stretches wide
like the new river

film flickers on the water
a plot shattered and murky
images smack into hellbent rapids
freezing rain and quick cuts

violent like Indonesia
scattered archipelago
familiar
like love lost and lava spent

Lorraine, the star shines
she is a metaphor for war
or the war against the war

her stunt double, Melva
is waiting for me to rescue her
from a burning canoe
hurtling towards a waterfall

deep in the subplot
the amish elves go berserk
coaxing wooden spacecraft
against time and space and steam
as Melva falls

the bad guys get rehabilitated
the good guys get a glint in their eye

Melva falls safely
Into my horny arms
Lorraine takes a nap plumbs the plot
In the trailer far below her neckline

the southern cross
splices the story
fades to black

after the popcorn
my favorite part of the show
when the lights come up
everyone disappears
and the lights
flicker like Alpha Centuri

by the boy poets over October and November