Giselle Marks
Life a a Movie
Reality can be quite mundane
But in movies it doesn’t often rain
I think it might be really groovy
to dwell in the reels of a movie.
Would it run at a faster speed?
Will you be the handsome hero?
It’d be nice to play the lead,
the villain or just another zero?
Every scene artistically shot
With a glorious backing track
Always have a parking spot
Live in a palace not a shack!
Drive like you’re a NASCAR man
With the prettiest rich man’s car
Instead of an old battered van
In your movie, you are the star!
What if it’s a zombie flick?
Will you survive to the end?
Can you run, are you quick?
Zombie bites do not mend.
Or perhaps there is a serial killer
Will you stop his dreadful run
Before the finale, that’s a thriller
Musn’t let him slash your Mum!
But the hero always gets the girl
Air brushed with a perfect smile
Designer clothes, her hair will curl
Well worth going that extra mile!
I think I’ll settle for life less fraught
Be grateful for everything I’ve got
But I might have another thought
If I was allowed to write the plot.
Flamingos and Fiction.
Flamingos frolic brilliant in the sun
Feathers flash orange and pink
Graceful or gawky as they run
Like skating on a glassy ice rink,
Fed on pellets dyed with carotene
To keep their plumage bright
Nothing is ever quite what is seen
Wings clipped, to prevent flight.
Stories clipped and polished bright
Nothing is exactly as you dream
Before they see release’s light,
Gaining readers and critical esteem.
Letting your characters come alive
A book’s not built in just one day
Before they breathe and thrive
Diligent labour has worn a way.
Watching people is a writer’s game
Contorting words to tell their tale
Calculating the effect of every name
Creating the part they each entail
Throw them in to sink or swim
Fearing that they might drown
Drag them out on just a whim
Then make them wear the crown.
Flamingos dwelling in captivity
Cannot escape or fly back home
Don’t construe their elegant activity
Implies they no longer want to roam
Have I bound my heroes to a story
Because they need to have it told?
Questing on for eternities of glory
Resplendent in the books I’ve sold.