David A. Worthington: Poems Inspired By Cinema

BIO

David A. Worthington is a natural scientist, athlete, wanderlust and writer of lyrics and poetry. He graduated from the University of Texas, at Austin in 1986 with a Bachelor of Arts degree.

During his formative years, his life journey wove a triad of American-West hometowns, each with its variances of societal norms: Chico California, Corvallis Oregon, and Austin Texas. In these “one-off towns” he often tested the testers… and frequently challenged others to writing competitions.

The vacillating nature of his everyday observations “testing the testers” … continues to be his driving force and his creative impetus.

 

NOTE: The poem “This Crimson Ribbon Wall”  was written during the “Literature and Art of Cinema Workshop” held at the 2014 Silent River Film Festival. The poem was inspired by the feature film Alex & Ali, which screened at the Silent River Film Festival 2014 in Irvine, California. The film tells the story of a gay Peace Corps volunteer, Alex, and the Iranian man he falls in love with, Ali. Just prior to the revolution, Alex was forced to leave Iran. The film tells of their challenges as they are separated and reunited 35 years later.

 

This Crimson Ribbon Wall
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I hear the 15th bone snap…a razored stem piercing my mottled skin.

The hooded men retire for evening prayer.
It’s cold and I’ve no letters, no photographs.
I lie crumpled, torn and tossed aside.
Disfigured, coagulating, bloated, shattered and lifeless.
Any tears I shed have long calcified.
Eyes and ears brutally augured,
By the worn-out instruments of the State

Like a hopeful toy bird sold in the streets of Istanbul,
These broken wings shall not again purchase flight.
My sudden misfortune renders me an unromantic, unattended, threadbare bag of dried lemons.
My God. My passport. My love of home cooking. All irreversibly expired.
I could not sign the papers. I could not sign.
This is my home, I could not sign.

My American Love, I recall
The fluid rhythm of your voice as I prepare the koresht.
Southern winds off the Caspian Sea
Ignite the mint and the parsley.
You relished my Persian Stew.
Artful conversation, laughter…embraces we heaped
In bursting abundance.
Certainly, all of humanity was united.
Back then I gave you my heart and now, we are worlds apart.

The mosque is known as The Tower of Silence.
Gazing skyward, I recall honeydew sunrays,
Ever-sharpening a galaxy of vivid mosaic tiles.
We teetered, then balanced in there.
Sober… yet drunk in there. Dizzy, alert. Agile, clumsy.
We shimmered like dancing supernovas.
Into the fire, where East and West collide.
So, gracefully, yet still… we hide.

My love, I beg you listen.
In the West your walls are built to keep life forces out.
They sufficiently insulate the confluence of kindness and Kingdoms.

I am of the East. It’s confounding. It’s curious.
I see a different type of wall.
A seamless monument built brick by brick,
Fully grouted with love and with frequent breaks
For wine and our affection.
Though I may quarrel in Farsi and fuss about your thrift store attire.
I will love you forever. Though forever you must go home.

If I become blind, it is but one brick removed.
If I become deaf, then only one more.
If I become crippled and confined then still…
The wall is a crimson ribbon 35 years long…
The foundation is embedded…strong.

As it is with man
So with communities.
As it is with the leaf
So with trees.
As it is with another brick
So with walls.
As it is with bones
So with my body, heart, and soul.

 

 

NOTE: The poem “Life is a Bonus”  was written during the “Literature and Art of Cinema Workshop” held at the 2014 Silent River Film Festival. The poem was inspired by the music video Beautiful which screened at the Silent River Film Festival 2014 in Irvine, California. The video tells a story of domestic violence.
.

Life is a Bonus

But what if I fall.
What of it. Sun Rises.
Get shut of it. Rise up.
But what if I stumble.
No matter. The World is your mattress.
And when I stammer and mumble?
Reflect. Take time to protect.
Find your voice. It is perfect.
Your own rattling instrument.
All are borne with a Helix. Unique.
Precious. Hand crafted DNA.
Beautiful.
No one is quite as clear.
No one comes near.
Relish your own onus.
Life is a bonus.

A thousand eyes just lit up.
They match-up. The soft, skyward Smiles.
The correlation is unreal.
Pinch and you can feel.
Your best-selling sensation.
Your fondest recollection.
You should have seen your spittle.
Overflowed. The Halo. Glowed.
Plastic Toy. In your crib, oscillated.
Your toothless howl attenuated.

Yeah…You Made it.
A million minnows behind.
Gushing at your Trojan Glow.
Every human waddling.
Out the canal to the Ground. Winning ticket clutched in chimp-like fingers.
You cannot go wrong. You are bold beyond boundaries.
You are proof walking. Though short, life swells whole.
You are splendid. You are sublime. You can achieve more in your mind.
Towering Totems may broadcast your name.
Yes. The Universe welcomes you. You are a rainbow of non-plastic parts.
Everything is Open. Everyone is Welcome.
We breathe together as if in a Symphony.
In a Garden of smiles and fruitions.
In a Sea of music and inspirations.
Love is Colorful.
Love is. Sensational.
You are Beautiful.
See you Around Baby.
.

*****