Market Street at 3AM
Two quarts and a five,
splashes of
of
yellow & red,
glass shatters,
a speed freak
on crutches,
and the barefoot
drag queen
shouts
KA-POW!
“EEZEEE STORAGE”
“immediate move in”
You can Fail but you can’t Flop
as the last drunk
staggers onto the bus.
(c) Rob Goldstein 1984-2018
revised June 13, 2018
Wow, profound, real and in living color! The painting is fabulous! 🙂
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It’s interesting that you picked up on the color. When I wrote this I was strongly influenced by Gertrude Stein and her idea that we can use words the way an artist would use paint. I wanted the poem to feel vivid and alive. It’s funny how we view our own work as we acquire new skill. I see a thousand things wrong with that image but I can see that it works. I have to remind myself that I’m still a novice when it comes to making images. Thank you for your comment. I appreciated it.
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I know what you mean about finding flaws in our own work. And as an artist, you know what you’d like to improve on, but to the viewer, we assume our own interpretations. After all, isn’t that what art is about – interpretation? 🙂
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I agree. I revise published works because as I get older my understanding of the work deepens.
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And you are bang on! 🙂 We’re always learning no matter how far we go.
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When learning ends we end, even if our bodies are still alive.
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Truth! 🙂
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Sounds like Cleveland at 3 PM, minus the barefoot drag queen. No one walks around barefoot in Cleveland: too many used needles lying about.
The above sentences are moderately exaggerated. Moderately.
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Homeless people often walk around barefoot in San Francisco. I find it hard to believe it’s 2018 and San Franciscans are still pretending they can’t find a solution to homelessness.
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Maybe they’re too busy designing the Space Force?
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Human nature. We accept what we see every day. The sight of public destitution shocks me because I remember when such a sight was unthinkable in the United States. My grandmother taught me those nations that abandon their sick and elderly are barbaric, that America is a civilized nation, which is why so many people come here.
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How quickly things have changed. Your grandmother’s time wasn’t long ago at all.
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On the day of the first lunar landing my Grandmother remarked that she was a child when the first planes took off and in her lifetime, men had landed on the moon. My Grandmother was only in her late 60’s at the time.
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Wow this is so real! Love it
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This is the highest compliment possible. If it felt real, I did my job. Thank you!
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I like Real!
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Thank you.
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Vivid, Rob. I see the red and yellow, and more. The vibe is very intense. The rhythm is a heartbeat.
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Thank you, Teagan. I’m glad you remarked on the rhythm. That’s important to get right.
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Yes, you got it right for sure! TGIF hugs.
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Reblogged this on Survivors Blog Here.
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Marvellous work, I am always in awe of what your creative mind produces.
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Thank you Paula. I remember the night I wrote this. It was December and I was on a bus slowly winding down Market Street at 3AM.
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Love the writing and LOVE the “spotlight” image as though the street is still part of the club . . . awesome.
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I love what I can do with textures in VR. I’m not so keen on VR as a social networking experience but as a tool for making art it’s uses are almost unlimited.
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