POEM – after seeing The Thing

POEM WRITTEN AFTER SEEING JOHN CARPENTER’S “THE THING”

(aka “The Greatest Monster In The History Of Cinema”)

By Tom Lavagnino

Warm wire warmed warmer

At the end of a flamethrower jet

And poised to strike a petri dish;

“Thing” determinette

Touched to fresh blood, and hopefully sizzling

As the four men, tied to chairs

Pulse heartbeats deep and bass-toned

Into the Dolby soundtrack’s affairs

The blood cries out in pain!

A shriek as sudden as it is absurd

And changing form as it erupts;

Chameleon-like is the word

The Monster rises, phoenix-like; a living scarecrow

For some futuristic farming station

And the faces of the other roped three

Flush freshly-focused fear at the realization

But those faces! Wild and wispy!

Full of Antarctica’s forlorn grief

And yet a bit grateful for this alien excitement;

The Rolaids of South Pole relief