Tuesday, March 10, 2015

A Message from the Sea: San Francisco Maritime Nocturne






Notice anything strange ?






As with a recurrent dream, the Flaneur sees something noetic and new 
in all of his by now familiar circumnavigations of the Bay







As the vitrine fills with warm saltwater
The good citizens waltz onward to oblivion








 1.
Aquatic Park Grows Dark





A mild and placid evening,
Not many people around







Mount Tam broad-shoulders the evening sky,
The lights of imaginary Sausalito come on,
The Golden gate bridge throws the switch






Before long it's just the swimmers and myself,
The water was like a blanket of ice,
Colder than it seemed last month





 2.
The Wharf After Dark


 

A time for coming in 
From landscapes of darkness






I am easily mesmerized these days






"San Francisco--Sailor Beware"
Black out on sex booze and music
Wake up on a ship to Shanghai





 

Some people are quite skillful,
At never seeing you again







It was a case of life's perfect casting,
He looked like a manikin street car driver 
In a video noir TV episode
He was more noir for concealing his face






Oh well there's always another street car...
But I'll never get another shot of that driver,
God damn it




Kitsch Palace Row






San Francisco is without any doubt
One of the Kitsch capitals of the world





In a Barbary coast watering hole,
Classic California outsider kitsch,
This miner lost his nose to frost bite







 3.
Nighttime at the Fun House




 For some systematic disordering of all the senses
Always spare a little time






Madame Sozaska is in the house,
She has never forgotten anything,
She'll spill a lot of sawdust for a sawbuck








Some unfamiliar faces as well,
Emanations of social anxiety







 The psycho-pathology of the everyday sideshow







 A rigged game of chance
In a miniature world
Made nightmarish by time and death







A hillbilly hoe-down was in full swing,
Sounding cheerful and carefree








Tragedy and schadenfreude 
Always seem to show up too







There are plenty of cars and guns available
For the children












There is even a barbershop quartet
For any centarians in the family
Who still remember that sort of thing

 




 Souvenirs for the senescent,
An embroidered patch that says
 I left my mind in San Francisco






These guys were my favorites,
Baroque rock versions of "Mickey's Monkey,"
and of "Monkey Man" 
By The Stones and by Toots & the Maytals




 4.
The Night Club



Full moon rising in the Eastern sky,
Past the darkened Red&White fleet dock,
One encounters a  fine dining experience






 The celebrated Franciscan Crab Restaurant






We call it "celebrated" because 
 Tawdry show business personalities
Used to hang out there





Pile-up of San Francisco signifiers
In a kitschy stained-glass tableau,
The City as it never was, and never will be





Keep your eye on this blue neon swordfish






5.
Dark Departure




Look back as we set sail,
A tiny light blue diagonal under the dark blue lights,
The neon swordfish






Next comes the raison d'etre 
For tonight's dark journey






Seeking illuminations, same as ever

From far left: Port of Oakland lights,
Bay Bridge, Moon, Saturn, light show,
downtown San Francisco 





Way out on the Bay, almost halfway home
We turn and make for the Ferry Building






Bridge lights and the moon 
In the distance my home port of Oakland







Two nights ago the switch was thrown
For new lighting on the Ferry Building
Recalling the Panama-Pacific Exposition of 1915






As we were boarding the downtown passengers
A guy raised a toast to the thrilling bridge lights,
Co-incidentally this was the last night for them,
Originally a two-year temporary installation ending tonight,
The ever-changing light show will now return next February





 

Photos of the 1915 version of the lit-up Ferry Buiding
Illustrate that it was quite a bit more elaborate than this,
Every edge of was articulated with big bright bulbs,
Not to spoil a cool eyeball kick with my critical eye









What perspective in this image,
A streak of light out of the heavens
A fond goodbye for now,
O fairy lights of the Bay Bridge






Back at the Port of Oakland,
After we drop off the Alameda crowd
The boat crosses over in the most exquisite slow motion,
Inducing hallucinatory drowsiness and a sensation of no motion,
Little kids drop off to sleep like puppies





5 March 2015

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