Double Vision
by Steven McCabe
The left hand and the right hand begin working,
Working to create double vision,
Perceptualizing the miracle, painting the town red.
Shrouded within a shimmering portal, same as before,
& Beneath the reflection a mirrored dream of innocence.
In the innocence of mirrored images a mechanism round as a marble
Rises and falls. Shattering above twin, holy worlds. Same as before.
Within this terrible possibility perhaps lies the intrigue,
An intrigue beyond failure,
Beyond the post-modern landscape any failure is a reassurance.
The reassurance of a terrible possibility.
Mystery centres wrestle with the impending implosion,
Endeavoring round the clock using the latest technology,
Such as sound in the centre of trees,
Processing data, round as a marble,
Rising like a feather in the breeze,
Until night with the force of an atomic blast
Arrives, inspiring the melancholy of the absurd, forever.
The images above were taken from the internet. I do not own the copyright and have recomposed them for purposes of non-commercial parody or commentary under fair use provisions. The personalities are Ho Chi Minh, Einstein’s brain, young John Lennon, actress and inventor Hedy Lamarr, author Simon de Beauvoir, and Pieter Bruegel the Elder’s 16th Century painting Tower of Babel. Film stills are from The Keystone Cops. The mirror is Egyptian, from the 18th Century, held by the Brooklyn Museum. The computer scientist ‘unknown.’
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Leafy green background working very well here. Bravo. Or perhaps Bravo Bravo.
Thank you thank you Pierre. The leafy green background is the same but I think the poem has gone through major changes since your visit.
Brilliant!
Thank you Richard! At first this was a parody of a ‘product’ called Dualoscope, with a news release, and I edited it, extensively, in ‘real time’ (online) over a couple days to get it where it is. As jokes often are it hid a different meaning.
What did Hedy Lamarr invent? Was it the stereoscope? My god, she was beautiful. I’m so glad you said who the people were. I was trying to think if it was Gene Tierney. And I’m glad to see Simone De B’s face. Is she here because of The Second Sex? And the inverted tower of babel. So much to contemplate. Great work.
Hi Nel, Yes she was quite stunning. Here’s her invention info: http://rjlipton.wordpress.com/2010/07/25/hedy-lamarr-the-inventor/ – It came out of her escaping her Austrian arms dealer husband during WW2. I needed another female and somehow the philosophical angle appealed hence Simon de Beauvoir. Not sure I actually thought through the reasons she popped into my mind. I was aiming for a ‘range’ of human experiences.
Thanks much for all these thoughts.
Very nice, Steven. Bruegel’s tower looks like colossal doomsday drill.
Hi Jack, A colossal doomsday drill! Okay, I love this. What a mind-blowing concept applied to the Tower of Babel!