quote from “Dead Poets Society” (1989)

Hello to All d’Versians gathered here today at this site of pubtalk and poetry! Lisa here, hosting Open Link Night, where you can write to the offered optional prompt OR link up any poem of yours that you fancy. The jukebox playlist is queued, and the magic cupboard, where snacks and liquid refreshment are kept, are on standby.

Watching movies was one of the big bonding activities my father and I enjoyed. He owned only black and white TV all of his life. He knew all of the names of all of the actors and would recite them as litany while we watched. We also went to the Drive-In Theater in good weather, where he would hide us kids in the wheel well of his red station wagon to get us in free (shhh don’t tell anyone.) An early cultivation for love of film has kept the love alive for me since then. The legacy has been passed down to my sons as well.

Here’s one famous poet’s take on movies:

The Movies 

I would like to watch a movie tonight
in which a stranger rides into town
or where someone embarks on a long journey,

a movie with the promise of danger,
danger visited upon the citizens of the town
by the stranger who rides in,

or the danger that will befall the person
on his or her long hazardous journey—
it hardly matters to me

so long as I am not in danger,
and not much danger lies in watching
a movie, you might as well agree.

I would prefer to watch this movie at home
than walk out in the cold to a theater
and stand on line for a ticket.

I want to watch it lying down 
with the bed hitched up to the television
the way they'd hitch up a stagecoach

to a team of horses
so the movie could pull me along
the crooked, dusty road of its adventures.

I would stay out of harm's way
by identifying with the characters
like the bartender in the movie about the stranger

who rides into town,
the fellow who knows enough to duck
when a chair shatters the mirror over the bar.

Or the stationmaster
in the movie about the perilous journey,
the fellow who fishes a gold watch from his pocket,

helps a lady onto the train,
and hands up a heavy satchel
to the man with the mustache

and the dangerous eyes,
waving the all-clear to the engineer.
Then the train would pull out of the station

and the movie would continue without me.
And at the end of the day
I would hang up my oval hat on a hook

and take the shortcut home to my two dogs,
my faithful, amorous wife, and my children—
Molly, Lucinda, and Harold, Jr. 

--by Billy Collins from Sailing Alone Around the Room: New and Selected Poems. © Random House. 

from “Jaws” (1975)

I went out to The American Film Institute’s website to find what they consider, “The 100 Most Famous Movie Quotes of All Time.” I browsed through them and picked my favorite ten:

“Toto, I’ve a feeling we’re not in Kansas anymore” – from The Wizard of Oz (1939)

“You talkin’ to me?” — from Taxi Driver (1976)

“I see dead people.” — from The Sixth Sense (1999)

“Well, nobody’s perfect” – from Some Like it Hot (1959)

“What a dump.” — from Beyond the Forest (1949)

“Is it safe?” — from Marathon Man (1976)

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.” — from A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)

“Listen to them. Children of the night. What music they make.” — from Dracula (1931)

“My precious.” — from The Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers (2002)

“Nobody puts Baby in a corner.” — from Dirty Dancing (1987)

The OPTIONAL prompts:
1) write a poem about why and/or how you like to watch movies
2) choose one of given quotes from AFI as a title for your poem (please give attribution if you choose this one)
3) go to the AFI website and choose another quote listed and use it as a title for your poem (please give attribution if you choose this one)

And now we have come to the moment we’re here for: please feel free to write to the optional prompt or to link up one of your poems. Let the poeming commence!

Just a reminder: Open Link Night means you can post ONE poem of your choosing (no specified form, length, word prompt etc.)

Those of you new to dVerse, here’s how to participate:
•Post any poem of your choosing on your blog or website.
•Click on Mr. Linky below to add your name and enter the direct URL to your poem
•On your blog, please provide a link back to dVerse. This enables others to enjoy our prompts, increases our readership and thus increases the responses to everyone’s poems.
•If you promote your poem on social media, use the tag #dverse poets
•Please do read some of the other responses to the prompt and add a short comment or reaction. Everyone likes to be appreciated! The prompt is open and linkable for several days so do stop by another day and read a few of the latecomers too.
•Have fun!

OpenLinkNight Mr.Linky is open until Saturday at 3pm EST (NY time)