Florence,
Like a lover, spread
before me, unrelentingly
itself, indifferent to me
and all my bitter euphoria
Florence,
in the rain, clouds seeded
with desire spent, desire
regained and that sad old fucker
full in the sky, over my shoulder
followed me home
—then, when the smoke cleared—
An habitué of years
of lonely Florentine nights
I pissed on the Fortezza
walked along the Mugnone
invisible as Calandrino
—no heliotrope in my pockets—
writing text messages as your train
lurched towards the Apennines, the Alps
and I found your scent
in my room:
It was like coming
face to face
with my own ghost.
I named her Florence.
12/14/2008
Firenze
Florence by Lee Foust
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I liked how you read this and had that version up along with the written version. I definitely read it differently than how you read it so the sound helped. I liked the soundtrack but I felt like it moved too slowly at times. At other points like the beginning I felt like it was great timing-- I felt like I was looking over my shoulder at the same time as the narrator was speaking the verse. Overall I'm unsure of how I feel about how it was read-- maybe do more versions? But I liked how it was written a lot.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Sarah, for the feedback. Funny, I've been thinking lately that most of my performances are too fast--that it, I rush through the texts without letting the soundscapes speak for themselves ever--this might be the one exception. heh heh. Maybe rushing is best. I'll have to think about it more I guess.
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