Tag Berlin

Cabaret – dVerse Poetics

freyathewriter 38 Comments

liza_minnelli_1973_special

Wikipedia

 

Greasepaint and glitter and show me your thighs

encased in the finest of silks.

Tip me the wink, girl,

sashay on over,

wrap yourself around that lucky ole chair

step on the seat back,

tip it on over

run your fingers through that brassy blond wig.

Bite your cherry red lip,

pout in my direction,

flutter your eyelashes

to hide who you truly are.

(But I can see through you

I can unravel the secret inside).

You hope I don’t know you.

you think you are hidden,

but I have the list

and your name is right here.

‘Jude’ runs right through you

and it’s only a matter of time

until that old gold star

emblazons itself on your skin,

until the flames devour you

and you join the planets spangling above.

‘Til then my sweet hussy

dance for your life.

 

This week on dVerse Poetics, Lillian invites us to write, inspired by the words razzle, dazzle and sparkle. Hmm… this immediately took me to one of my favourite films of all time – Cabaret. I love it for the music, the clever lyrics and (this won’t be a surprise to those who know me) the period of history and where it is set, in Berlin.

The dark brooding presence of the Nazis is so well-entwined with the hedonistic feel of pre-war Berlin’s cabaret scene, it haunts me. So my idea of razzle, dazzle and sparkle is inextricably interwoven with that, I’m afraid. Hey ho – I never claimed to be anything but a dark writer, except on occasion!

Please do head on over to dVerse and enjoy the work of other poets!

Place of Safety – VisDare 33

freyathewriter 19 Comments

I’m on a roll! Here’s my first offering for Anonymous Legacy‘s photo-inspired prompt, VisDare. The rules are simple:

150 words – or less.

Post entry to your blog and “link in”.

(Please – no erotica or graphic violence.)

DON’T FORGET to read and comment on others’ entries!!

So, the photo is below, and my piece follows. Let me know what you think, and give it a go yourself, why not?

– Place of Safety –  

“Mr Riordan, it wasn’t so long ago that my colleague had you in tears! Please, share your thoughts!”

I sigh. That memory is the reason why I have returned to my first love – photography. The whole process, the camera, the ink-black cocoon of the dark room, it is safety for me.

“If you insist. This new direction is a comment on the divisions between east and west, from the end of World War Two to the Cold War. My signature piece, which I call Die Frauen der Berliner Mauer, is my artistic representation of the Berlin Wall, bound on each side by the east and west of the city itself. The image was taken in Berlin, along the Wall’s route.”

Would she accept this spiel?

“Thank you, Mr Riordan. I know our readers will be charmed by both your new direction, and your explanation.”

Success, for now.