The con of it all

The Con of It All

by

To the piano of ragtime music,

Paul Newman plunges his head

into a basin of ice and water.

A consummate conman, with Robert Redford,

he’s up and ready to take on the Mafia.The Sting is on.

Hollywood redresses the wrongs of the world.

From my proscenium seat, it is Newman’s

awakening into action that catches

my imagination. Cool. So cool.

Outside NAFDEC cinema, Kipling’sGreat Game rages on.

Yet, I am barely away. My basin

of ice cold water is going tepid.

The con of it all.

But to them it’s jazz. It’s all cool,

for jazz makes them look cool.

As for ragtime, just a last minute

anachronistic improvisation,

for good cinema’s sake.