Ode to the Lyric Amusement Company

Old man Diamos was sure
a cheapskate,
a movie man with his eye
on the Nickolodeon,
we don't know more
than this do we?
His death still
a perfect secret
no one knows for sure
if he went down
with the Fox or Grand,
the Apache or Geronimo
or if he died at all.
He started the place
with some kind of crank
wizards, all the same
short types of men.
The best job in town
wasn't nurse, teacher,
dentist, snake oil.
It was usher
because they got in for free
to shine a flashlight
down the aislebecause Nick Diamos
didn't like a mess
in his darling place,
didn't want love
or chaos in the last row.
The man knew
his business.
Reels, big brooms,
luxury lights,
buttery smells,
tickets, one cartoon
and those ushers.

Matinee.

Midnight, the Exorcist
a long walk home with my chum
and the devil.
The Red Sea parts
and Molly Brown floats in
past Lady Guenivere,
whispers something sweet
to Shirley McClaine
at four forty-five,
Jack just boarding
the five o'clock
to gone, as they call
out my name
come to the snack bar.

Intermission.

I stood in the yard that Jack left
for the last time
and took everything
with him -
the fires and dogs,
tire swings and alter boys.
The Greyhound bus appeared
through the mesquite
up on the mountain
for a few seconds
and I cried.
Not sure why
goodbyes are so important.
He'd send postcards
from all the wonderful places
like the St. Louis Arches.
I missed it all
for the show
because old man Diamos
lured us with his faux
red velvet clad ushers
that just don't let go.


The Deer Hunter,
the last picture show.

Manhattan, she was
just all Manhattan
and so pure
because we didn't
understand Manhattan.
Woody leaned into
her
leaned real hard
as the New York sky line
loomed over the bay,
yet the deer
just stood there,
de Niro, the gun
and MurielHemingway.
She was. She sure was.
Nick Diamos
parted the sea
and curtains
to let Meryl through
to channel the boiling
waters of hell
under the balcony,
into the lobby
and out the doors
where they flowed
back into the Lif.
It was raining that day,
I just didn't get it,
the last clip.
But it was raining
and there was still
a taxi in town
parked where it
always used to park.
It was either over
or just started,
I couldn't tell.

Dear Mr. Diamos,

I've been around the world now
there's been a thousand scenes,
yours were just too short.

Sincerely yours,

Margaret Ruth


The back story:

The Map of Cars, Mercury and Marquis
Jack and Fish

The Dove's Midrash