On the Impossible Marriage of Celluloid and Paper: Rocky Balboa and Jane Austen Write Tanka on the Subject of Love and Fidelity
Brute force, southpaw, takes
no true woman by the hand,
nor will win the day,
for it is a truth well known
ladies need little such play.
Yo, I’ll let you know,
I see like a beagle, see?
You’re the best in town,
and ever since I seen you
it’s been great, absolutely.
What tricks and cold schemes
are these you present to me?
Have you not a wife?
Is she not your everything,
you are her only love, yes?
Do you want to go
skating on the ice in town?
it’s the best time yo—
oh, I won’t let you fall down!
Get a cheesesteak, lots of fun!
You deflect sir, stop.
See the lady Adrian—
her name parts the clouds!
For shame at your age, be tamed!
And what fools you make of maids!
I feel like a bum.
We’re in a fight, she’s tired
and told me to quit
mixing with boxers, training,
and take my shots here at home.
Is it a crime sir,
to hold duties of estate,
with beast, child, and wife?
She received those blows with you,
those you took. O sore battle!
Jesus! Oh god. Mick
said I was a tomato
past my prime and blind!
She was right too! She always
was so good to me, oh god!
Self pity, fighter,
release it like a fire!
She stands with you now,
believed in all things, chose hell
with you, and would die I fear!
Well. I suppose Jane,
if I don’t get up, take hits,
read her book of love,
youse say I’m big time stupid—
I don’t have to be this ways.
This gentle accord
sits smiling in my pen’s verse.
Rocky Balboa,
you’ve well slipped a monster jab—
now stand, moving forward—on!
9 thoughts on "On the Impossible Marriage of Celluloid and Paper: Rocky Balboa and Jane Austen Write Tanka on the Subject of Love and Fidelity"
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
perfectly absurd! 🙂
Killer !
It works 🙂
👏 Yay!
This is the most accessible of this series. The dialogue is perfect and very funny. I’m glad you still have the bandwidth to write more. What’s next?
Absolutely hilarious and deft, Manny! The separation of the voices into stanzas (tanka!) contributes mightily to the accessibility Linda referenced. My favorite in this series by far.
Great to see you yesterday.
Very creative, very you!
This argument is brilliant. You capture the voices in texture and form perfectly.
Y’all made me blush. I give credit to Chelsie. Dustin Cecil wrote to me privately and suggested a dialogue between Charlotte Bronte and Federico Garcia Lorca, but I don’t know Bronte’s work with confidence. A character in a book by Stephen King like Jack Torrence from the Shining writing the poem the LexPoMo reader is reading, while Lorca advises him on the use of adjectives. But that would be ridiculous and completely masturbatory.
Awesome!