The afterlife of fame by David Trinidad

View this email on a browser Forward to a friend November 7, 2016   The afterlife of fame   David Trinidad

is dark a neglected mansion   with vanishing court rats in the empty pool   and antiquated actress languishing   as ghost of her famous self flickers in the projector's beam   or framed in silver haunts every room   Face unrecognizable? Name forgotten?   O float me to Oblivion in my swan bed   with my bandaged wrists and doors shorn of locks   with swirl of my cigarette smoke and glitter of my jewels   and silent flutter of my weightless tulle            Copyright © 2016 David Trinidad. Used with permission of the author. About This Poem   "I wrote 'The afterlife of fame' after rewatching the 1950 movie Sunset Boulevard. On this viewing, Norma Desmond seemed less of a monster; I had compassion for her as a victim of the impermanence of fame. I was also reading a lot of Emily Dickinson: 'The World, will have its own—to do— / The Dust, will vex your Fame—" —David Trinidad   David Trinidad is the author of Notes on a Past Life (BlazeVOX [books], 2016). He teaches at Columbia College Chicago.   Photo credit: Alyssa Lynee  Poetry by Trinidad   Notes on a Past Life (BlazeVOX [books], 2016)  "Epilogue" by Amber Tamblyn "[ a subway ride ]" by Joseph O. Legaspi "Motown Philly Back Again" by Harmony Holiday Poem-a-Day   Launched during National Poetry Month in 2006, Poem-a-Day features new and previously unpublished poems by contemporary poets on weekdays and classic poems on weekends. Thanks for being a part of the Academy of American Poets community. To learn about other programs, including National Poetry Month, Poem in Your Pocket Day, the annual Poets Forum, and more, visit Poets.org.   You are receiving this e-mail because you elected to subscribe to our mailing list. If you would like to unsubscribe, please click here.   © Academy of American Poets 75 Maiden Lane, Suite 901, New York, NY 10038