We sit in the darkness
Long after the credits have started to roll
Telling ourselves we’re curious
About who played what part
How many parts Peter actually played
Where such and such a scene was shot
Who recorded the 2nd movement of Beethoven’s 7th in the speech scene
Whether any animals were harmed in the process
To hear the lush music that serenades the fade.
But really we sit in the darkness
Because we don’t want to let go
Of the two hours plus or minus
In which we deeply cared
And came to understand
How George and Martha truly loved each other
How Zampano could step all over true unvarnished love again and again
How the world would never be big enough for Butch and Sundance
How Freddy and Lawrence could be so crooked and so lovable
How Woody’s Isaac and Mariel’s Tracy could live with the separations of space and time.
Maybe it will be like this at the end of life.
Sweet music, some memories,
A few epiphanies with mysteries revealed and solved,
A glance at the screen to see if the spellings are correct,
A brief closing of the eyes to set it all in place.
And then the lights.
Paul Boyer
Durango
