The dark. The hush. Tantalus,

do not think about taking Oscar home.

Matinee Idol’s got it down with a wiggle

of a mustache not his own.   Lush

with the Rosebud Lips deigns to make a moue

"tomatoes" and "peaches" been known to pass out.

Wake up with popcorn and Double Bubble

up their girdles!   Bugs Bunny, a lisping cat

known as Sylvester, and a tortured canary

drag children up front to hypnotize

with shifts of light.   Shadow tricks

that make even milque toasts dream.

A sound crew-rigged machine gun rat-a-tats

crooks and heroes to heroes and crooks.

U n r e a l.    All this before Edith Head

satin-tulles-and-tuxes a Fred-and-Ginger number

gotta see to believe.   What Max Factor can’t do

with pencil and pancake can’t be done.

All against the glare.  The racket.   Reality pushing

down a throat can kill the wildest hope.  Cherish

this dark.  This hush.  Shush, the curtain is open.

Voila. The minks. The ice. Aim another spot at

June Allyson’s apron. Now the pie. Segue to

another father who Knows Best.

The love note,  the pillow,  the dissolve.

The war that cannot kill the good.

The family that cannot kill love.

The color. The music. The laughter.

The tears.  Usher, these seats are taken!