From the Archives : Les Miz (2016)

Everybody’s a critic 

when it comes

to the Revolution.

Some sing the chorus 

on barricades 

while others take aim

to make them stop.

That’s when the scene 

of the very first shot

they shot is shot

and the day’s a wrap 

for those lucky 

to have died.

After which, things

will quiet down

for the friends 

we’ll never meet.

Friends — no matter 

what was pointed 

at us, done with and

to us, no one will

say we didn’t 

look damned good 

doing whatever 

it is we were 

doing a l'ère 

du grand écran. 

Though the times

must needs

recast us, rolled over

in their greater 

sleep — to fashion 

of our lives 

history, to remodel

our homes into

the glamorous flats

of pilots — ace debonaires 

with prudence enough 

to know when 

to quit, hang up

the hopeless conflict 

and go nurse 

the dry martinis

they left sweating 

at the bar.