A Portal To Marlon
Socrates: Pao. Where have you been?
I've been writing scripts.
Socrates: And why do you think you can do such a thing?
Arrogance.
Socrates: But your voice is still muffled?
Austin said it's okay to be embarrassed by audaciousness.
( But he also said don't talk about your process. Nobody cares. )
Nevertheless, a while back, I had a magical moment, worthy of sharing:
I found a picture of Tennessee Williams on Bill Clerk's table.
Inside a big pile of images.
That had made a 'stop'.
Diana, had reached out through time and space and said, "Paolina, learn from this artist."
So there I was, seeing him.
There was even a roll that hadn't been developed, so Bill had developed it.
In these pictures Marlon was a wistful boy.
Doing homework, bored out of his mind.
He stops, He asks his mother to take pictures of him.
He puts on a Greek theatrical mask that she had sitting on the kitchen table.
He stands in his attic bedroom, by the window and he looks out at me, through time and space
I am unbelieving.
Why am I seeing you, nobody has seen these, how could I be seeing this?
I get very quiet,
Hearing his heartbeat and feeling his thoughts.
Do you know who it was?
I will spell it out for you.
Marlon Brando.
From a roll of film that hadn't been developed.
There he was looking back at me, as a 16 year old.
It was a look that said,
See me if you dare touch my eternal thoughts.
(I saw that same look in another boy recently, an image on Instagram, too embarrassed )
When Marlon Brando died, all his personal photos were on Bill Clerk's table in the country.
Bill was his sister's best friend. So he was sending them to her at Patching Place.
(I also was a young artist myself, like we could have gone dancing.)
And in that pile was also the Tennessee Williams photo.
It was a picture of the two of them somewhere, from the time of Streetcar Named Desire, Now he's thirty maybe, some press tour to Mexico, or LA, sitting on a couch, a late night party. laughing uncontrollably.
Taken from someone's hacienda house, I could tell from the plaster walls.
I have never seen so much energy.
A visitation from the heroes and an invitation to join them, catch up Pao.
Bye Marlon and thank you Universe.
I'm Acting As If, deeper, tighter, glazing through time, ravenously.
Working as quickly as I can.
Pao 10/07/24
