Art Deco Child

Cherry

By Ed Crane

Sun, 03 Aug 2014
  • 2214 reads
8 comments
 

At times I feel re-incarnated, images

come to my mind's eye when I hear

Glenn Miller music. Smoky dance-halls,

lines of girls, uniforms and growing up

. . . fast!

 

Hark-back memories, easy times in Art

Deco cities. Climbing Clarice Cliff trees

resplendent in primary colours. Candy-

box houses filled with windows stained

by angular patterns.

 

Streets populated with Airflow cars driven

by double-breasted suits with turn-ups

and razored creases accompanied by Bob-

cut ladies. Travel on trains pulled by

idealized locos puffing pure white

cotton wool smoke.

 

And I wonder why these memories feel

cut-off in a sudden. . . . And why the drone

of a high-flying B-29 brought irrational

fear when I was five-years old.

Certificate U
Poem
Spiritual
Fantasy
Historical Fiction

Comments

Submitted by celticman on

it curves back in time. Nice one.

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

Good of you to read my poem. I thinks it's all this stuff about the war that triggered this one!

Hope your book is going ok.

Cheers

 

 

Submitted by Raef_Boylan on

I liked the style of this, lots of things given new character through metaphor. The only constructive criticism I can think to offer is regarding the use of "grow" in the first stanza when you also have "growing up" - is there another, more original way to describe the developing of images in the mind? Or is the reptition of the word deliberate?

Overall, nice work.

Submitted by Ed Crane on

I failed to spot the use of grow twice in one stanza ... funnily enough I had changed it during an earliar edit, but forgot about 'growing.'

Your comment was a big help, I've flagged it as great feedback.

Thanks again

Ed Crane

 

Submitted by Raef_Boylan on

No worries. Appreciate the feedback on the feedback :)

Submitted by Bee on

This is written as sharp and clean as the suits, shapes and angles described - with the atmosphere of the time. Perhaps the fear isn't irrational, but comes with the reincarnation combining hindsight with foresight. We can see things from all angles these days. You can buy Art Deco models of the B - 29 on eBay. Seems a bit odd to me, but what do I know? Great poem!

Bee

Submitted by Ed Crane on

Thanks for your kind words. Interesting point you make about re-incarnation. Actually the part about the B-29 is more or less true except I think I was six. I was in the school playing field when this plane flew over, I guess about 30,000 feet making this awful drone sound. I don't know if it was a B-29 but it was a big four engine propeller plane. I remember being terrified, but all the other kids didn't seem to notice it. I've never forgotten that!

Strange how one pinpoints scenes from early childhood.

Thanks again,

Keith xx

 

Submitted by Ed Crane on

for the cherries...... very much appreciated, as always. (it always surprises me when I get them!)