The Grand

Making a stately crossword of the night
New stars are rising, Gem and Regent. Soon
Great Tivoli takes the heaven, rose and white,
Blanching Orion and the dappled moon.
Around the roof supreme auroras flow:
Performing fire and circuses of snow.

Nor fade to common on the brightest day:
Fanatic murals daubed with sex and joke
Along the wall delirious sagas lay,
Amassing miracle for the simple folk
That to this haunted pit as palmers wend,
Offer their mite and bid the god descend.


from Movie, by John Frederick Nims


Took a photo of the old theater in town for the Mono Monday challenge. It's not much of a street scene, but I don't live around a lot of streets so it will have to do. This is one of those theaters with a stage as well as a movie screen, and there are still performances of all sorts held here. Obviously such places have been impacted by the pandemic, but this one is operated as a non-profit with some local support so I think it will make it.

Perusing poems on the subject I was a bit nonplussed to come across so much grim and depressing imagery. After awhile it became clear people were responding to the news reels which used to play before the main attraction. The juxtaposition of war-time footage with escapism and Hollywood glamour obviously struck a chord with many poets.

I like going to the movies, but they were probably right to be concerned.


UPDATE: curiously, right after posting this I saw in the local paper that a different old theater in the area, the Alamo, will be closing "for the foreseeable future" because of the the economic hit brought about by the pandemic. The article pointed out this was the second pandemic the theater has struggled with  - the first being in 1918.