1:
Long ago one evening
I held the hand that Elvis
Had pressed in his two hands
‘He held much longer than he might –
Many beats too long’ she said
‘He held my gaze in his
Too long for what was just
A formal introduction’
‘By then he’d lost his innocence –
Doubtless he was practised
Flirting with so many
College girl reporters like myself
Seeing who would blush or speak non-stop
Testing new immodest powers
Of a teenage Dionysus
– This boy who had improbably
Caught a bolt of lightning
So they named him now
The Memphis Flash –
He reached out in a daze
Grasping any hand he might
Seeking only shelter’
2:
Climbing the palazzo’s broken stair
With caution you will find
A rooftop cinema
Dilapidated as the celluloid
Desires that urged us there
To love’s old-fashioned trivia and trinkets –
To see the actors suffering
In days when they were envied!
Then at times the film would break
Fragile frames reveal their stock
Of overheated glamour in cold blood
And looking up from many an illusion
We’d gasp at the vast and factual stars
Bernard Saint
Illustration: Claire Palmer
.