"You Were No Place," A Visual Poem

This video was first shown at the 10th Upham Film Festival. You can check out the other festival submissions and see their archives at uphamfilmfest.com

Also viewable on Youtube:

The poem:

                                                                  You Were No Place

                           I must see you again,
                           Now that we’ve done something,
                           Now that there are glimmers and flashes and 
                           strikes of light on the edges of the world again,
                           but,
                           you were no place.

                           it’s funny to think
                           lying sideways here 
                           on the cold hardwood floors
                           that there’s really not much left
                           for all of us here,
                           at least
                           not what generations before
                           took as their birthright

                           whether time
                           or hope
                           or childish future,
                           the hands of work
                           and labor of fruit,
                           the west is drying out
                           and the east is subsumed

                           and it’s funny to put it that way
                           for
                           after all
                           there’s still time
                           to do this
                           and do that
                           and the other,

                           I thought I knew the shape of time,
                           expanding and contracting,
                           a ribcage mighty to destroy,
                           I never learned that the flash reveals only one side,
                           the width of your single vantage,
                           I never learned that all of it could go away,

                           to play with the lives of daughters in a faraway war
                           who couldn’t be crushed or carted off or drawn on paper
                           but who could be loved and vaporized in an instant
                           you were no place
                           in sight and mind 
                           the streets were forever lonely
                           you were no place
                           wanted 
                           you were no place
                           to be found 
                           you were no place
                           even mapped,
                           I know there’s somewhere that you’ll always be,
                           I know you’ll remember,
                           we’ve both been there before,
                           in the pool and behind the café and after the crowd let out 
                           it meant everything,
                           the rocks and the police and the dark music couldn’t beat 
                           that power you had, 
                           so just tell me that you’ll be there again, 
                           I must see you,
                           but,
                           you were no place.

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