Missing

Hello.  Since the Oscars are coming up and I throw a party every year, I thought I would write about movies.  I will start with a poem which is in Late Model.  A poem I wrote during the pandemic but might just be shapes of things to come.

Thanks for reading.

Zack

 

Missing

 

Standing like a condemned building.  The multiplex is empty.  Neon marquee switched off like a deadbeat tenant.  Cavernous underground parking empty, only occasional commuters finding a spot by the elevator.  Remembering bustling four stories of activity where humans congregated for picture storytelling to delight, amaze and terrify.   Emotions in the dark.  Laughter and tears.  A frightened inhale as a shadow jumps into view.

 

childhood Saturday

matinee double feature

time long forgotten

 

Missing the jovial ticket taker who wisecracks at what we’ve chosen and points us toward concessions. Missing the suspicious box office worker eyeing the five fourteen-year-olds who desperately want to make their way to an R rated sequel of bloodletting.  Missing the young lovers who hold hands and share soft drinks.  Missing the self-appointed Movie Police who shouts, “turn off your cell phone.” Missing the weekend parent-child festival because it was Frozen or Cloudy with Meatballs or Nemo still needed to be found.  Missing the previews. Missing the community.

 

once a sanctuary

the boy on a bicycle

seeking movie magic

 

I want the world to smell like popcorn again.

 

Zack Hoffman

(from Late Model)