Merry Christmas 2009 (Franz Biebl)

Straight Street - Chanticleer

Funeral Blues

A & I recently watched the first episode of New Street Law (the series supposedly "follows the exploits and cases of two rival barristers' chambers with very different attitudes to justice") starring the Scot actor John Hannah and John Thomson. We enjoyed it.

But since we have not seen a lot of John Hannah's work, I could not erase the image of Matthew (John Hannah) reciting W.H. Auden at the funeral of his lover Gareth (Simon Callow). So there was nothing to do but to google youtube and the reading is a powerful as any I can remember - A & I were reduced to the same tears as when we first saw the movie.

between daylight and the dark

black tornado - it's who i am

ain't no reason

what lifts love to such a peak

What lifts love to such a peak as this?
-not the impetuosity of youth:
we no longer remember our first kiss -
or, in remembering, trim at the truth.

-Bill K. Boydstun

Reprinted here with permission of the author.

inch by inch