Friday 3 December 2010

Then Was I as a Tree, Whose Boughs Did Bend with Fruit.


The Mastery of the Fruit

The bright green dimpled limes oft dream
of mustard yellow smooth unpitted peel,
a guileless sharp ordeal, suspecting not
the unheralded drop
from the tree plop
as life drains away.

Outrageous, if it's judged by immortality;
unfair if it is measured for survival.
The mastery of the fruit
at being fruitful, fruitless,
fruity sweet tingly tart
and simply its gaudy self -
green genius.

Is it sad to dream awhile ill-placed
to bring those zesty dreams to their fruition?
Dimpled rot, fruit flies clot,
mold takes lime and wishes fuzzy
verdant cloak a spiky red.
Her spore-child clings to the eldest
oak in a distant place:
Cyclic grace.


-Suzanne Foxton 2010

This clip seems to have nothing to do with fruit being itself, but so what? It was a pleasure to recently sit down with the kids and watch Singing in the Rain in installments. The scene usually extracted is Gene Kelly in the title song, being pummelled by a rain machine filled with a stinking mixture of milk and water while having a temperature of 103 degrees Fahrenheit (Gene, not the rain). However, the children and I were most impressed with Donald O'Connor's show stopping performance of Make 'Em Laugh. Even nearly 60 years after it was filmed, and in an age of wondrous CGI and intricately produced song-and-dance numbers, this number still has the power to WOW us. This was the only decent quality version I could find that could be embedded, so please forgive glitchiness; it's a big file. Prepare to be awed!


10 comments:

Nirdosh said...

made me laugh...made me laugh...made me laugh ...hahaha...:)))
clips you choose is just fantastic !!!
Thank you Dear Suzi :)
much love :)

Brenda said...

It is sad to think about rot and ruin. Thankfully, there are still Donald O'Connors out there trying to make us laugh. I bet some days your boy is one of them. Teenagers can be so darned funny. I like the way you watch movies with yours.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Nirdosh, what about that walking up the wall stunt? Incredible.

No One In Particular said...

Hey Brenda...if there wasn't the appearance of rot and ruin, there wouldn't be the appearance of ripeness. My son is a first class gurner, not of the Jim Carrey status but he has aspirations!

Anonymous said...

On reading your juicy poem and watching the acrobatic performance of Donald O'Connor. One word came to mind – 'Zest', like Zen. Just place holders for This! No matter how you slice and dice the Reality pie, you can be sure of it being evenly sprinkled with copious amounts of equanimity. So, take as little or as much, as you want. Either way, you won't be able to finish it.... :)
Peace - Suki

agoraéagora said...

I love you!

No One In Particular said...

Hi Suki. It's fascinating to label and describe and try to figure out the appearance...call it zesty. Why not.

No One In Particular said...

Hi agoraéagora, I love you too.

The trials and tribulations of QPR said...

Hi Suzanne,

Great poem, funny clip...enjoyed your post once more and yes, I did laugh out loud!

Lightning Brother said...

Hey, my copy ended when the guy slid under the sofa...same old, same old...lol! Bin lovin ya since I met you about this time last year. Keep doin your stuff, Suzanne...or not... xx