FIVE POEMS FOR CURT SIODMAK
Wolfboy Meets Teenage Frankenstein
“Even a man who's pure in heart
Wolfboy Meets Teenage Frankenstein
“Even a man who's pure in heart
And says his prayers by night,
May become a wolf when the wolfbane blooms
And the autumn moon is bright.”
—Curt Siodmak, The Wolf Man
We were good friends—Frankie and me
We went to Hollywood High—in Los Angeles
Like Michael Jackson—and Elizabeth Taylor
We came from movie families—greedy parents
The only thing that mattered—was money
Both Frankie and me—we grew up fast
There’s no time for boyhood—in Hollywood
The idea being to milk our cute goodlooks
And supposedly innocent ways—so that
Our handlers and enablers—got wealthy
Some child stars—they don’t make it
After adolescence—and all those hormones
Turn a guy into an awkward gangly goof
Then what does he do—with his life?
Nobody wants them—like Mickey Rooney
The thing with Frankie and me though—
We were ugly and grotesque—already
We weren’t getting cuter or more handsome
What were teenage monsters anyway—
Just has-been aging Freaks—in the way
Guilty Pleasures
“The Western cowboy
hero, the Detective, the
Secret Agent are almost
invariably blameless.”
—Curt Siodmak
The problem with being—a nefarious Wolfboy
Is the guilt I feel for—not being human enough
I’ve got this character flaw—error of judgment
Helping to create and release—the horror show.
When the full moon comes out—horror begins
I can’t help myself—it’s like being cursed by
Some relentless unforgiving classical tragedy
Each of us have dark—Monsters of the Id
There’s nothing urban or urbane—about it
Nosferatu and Murnau—are both cursed
Count Frankenstein—is cursed by his Creature
King Kong is cursed—by unrequited love
Fay Wray cursed by—Skull Island jungle lust
Dr. Jekyll is cursed—by his double Mr. Hyde
Dorian Gray is cursed—by his attic portrait
Just as bad as Oscar Wilde—by Bosie
How many doubles—and cursed doppelgangers
Lurk inside our twisted lives—out to destroy us?
Son of Dracula
“Count Alucard, Dracula spelled
backwards. It stuck. Now the
name is part of Hungarian folklore.
History is made behind the typewriter.”
—Curt Siodmak
Evelyn Ankers—the Hollywood Scream Queen
There’s something about a beautiful woman
Caught up in the hairy arms of a giant Ape
Pick a Monster any monster—let Evelyn scream
And all the men in the balcony—get erections
Una O’Connor—she’s a Scream Queen too
But her hysterics—it’s all pastiche and parody
The way she screams in—The Invisible Man
The campy screams—as Minnie the Housekeeper
In The Bride of Frankenstein—by the abyss
The same with campy—Maria Ouspenskya
The busybody gypsy queen bee—cursed by
Old World mythologies—looking for hexagrams
That go bump in the night—plus Madame Zimba
Screamy witch—humid Deep South clairvoyante
Morbid" heiress Louise Allbritton—whimpers
Rather than screams like Una and Evelyn
She’s got her Carpathian hunk—wants eternity
Plans to ditch Lon Chaney—as soon as possible
But shot by her ex-boyfriend—rots in the swamp
Monsters USA
“Human beings
are monsters”
—Curt Siodmak
We human beings—we’re Monsters
We don’t need to be—Werewolves
Most bloodsuckers—aren’t Vampires
Most Teenagers—already from outer space
Plenty of Slime People—Creepazoids
Lots of Alligator People—on Wall Street
All those Beasts—down in the Cellar
Tons of Brooklyn Gorillas—hanging around
Lots of Billy the Kids—Daughters of Dracula
Smorgasbords of—Blobs and Blaculas
But why are monsters—called monsters?
Most monsters—simply get born and die
They live their Hollywood lives—so what?
Why should they—be mean and vicious?
Maybe Monsters—are only human beings?
Movies and Monsters
“Non lettera scritta sed
lettera impressa manet.
Not the written word remains,
only the printed one.”
—Curt Siodmak
Monster movies—they don’t last
The Forties Universal monsters—
Classics like Dracula--Frankenstein
Ending up Abbott and Costello jokes
Monsters are only—all too human
Movies are full of—pages of written words
They die over time—zeitgeists come & go
But published books—and printed stories
Last forever—longer than those on films
Printed words—don't seem to die
Ponzi scheme monsters—wait to be born
How many new versions—of Brazil 1984
Simpering in the shadows—of Wall Street?
Waiting for headlines—printed words to
Catch up with—Mephostopheles motives?
—Curt Siodmak, The Wolf Man
We were good friends—Frankie and me
We went to Hollywood High—in Los Angeles
Like Michael Jackson—and Elizabeth Taylor
We came from movie families—greedy parents
The only thing that mattered—was money
Both Frankie and me—we grew up fast
There’s no time for boyhood—in Hollywood
The idea being to milk our cute goodlooks
And supposedly innocent ways—so that
Our handlers and enablers—got wealthy
Some child stars—they don’t make it
After adolescence—and all those hormones
Turn a guy into an awkward gangly goof
Then what does he do—with his life?
Nobody wants them—like Mickey Rooney
The thing with Frankie and me though—
We were ugly and grotesque—already
We weren’t getting cuter or more handsome
What were teenage monsters anyway—
Just has-been aging Freaks—in the way
Guilty Pleasures
“The Western cowboy
hero, the Detective, the
Secret Agent are almost
invariably blameless.”
—Curt Siodmak
The problem with being—a nefarious Wolfboy
Is the guilt I feel for—not being human enough
I’ve got this character flaw—error of judgment
Helping to create and release—the horror show.
When the full moon comes out—horror begins
I can’t help myself—it’s like being cursed by
Some relentless unforgiving classical tragedy
Each of us have dark—Monsters of the Id
There’s nothing urban or urbane—about it
Nosferatu and Murnau—are both cursed
Count Frankenstein—is cursed by his Creature
King Kong is cursed—by unrequited love
Fay Wray cursed by—Skull Island jungle lust
Dr. Jekyll is cursed—by his double Mr. Hyde
Dorian Gray is cursed—by his attic portrait
Just as bad as Oscar Wilde—by Bosie
How many doubles—and cursed doppelgangers
Lurk inside our twisted lives—out to destroy us?
Son of Dracula
“Count Alucard, Dracula spelled
backwards. It stuck. Now the
name is part of Hungarian folklore.
History is made behind the typewriter.”
—Curt Siodmak
Evelyn Ankers—the Hollywood Scream Queen
There’s something about a beautiful woman
Caught up in the hairy arms of a giant Ape
Pick a Monster any monster—let Evelyn scream
And all the men in the balcony—get erections
Una O’Connor—she’s a Scream Queen too
But her hysterics—it’s all pastiche and parody
The way she screams in—The Invisible Man
The campy screams—as Minnie the Housekeeper
In The Bride of Frankenstein—by the abyss
The same with campy—Maria Ouspenskya
The busybody gypsy queen bee—cursed by
Old World mythologies—looking for hexagrams
That go bump in the night—plus Madame Zimba
Screamy witch—humid Deep South clairvoyante
Morbid" heiress Louise Allbritton—whimpers
Rather than screams like Una and Evelyn
She’s got her Carpathian hunk—wants eternity
Plans to ditch Lon Chaney—as soon as possible
But shot by her ex-boyfriend—rots in the swamp
Monsters USA
“Human beings
are monsters”
—Curt Siodmak
We human beings—we’re Monsters
We don’t need to be—Werewolves
Most bloodsuckers—aren’t Vampires
Most Teenagers—already from outer space
Plenty of Slime People—Creepazoids
Lots of Alligator People—on Wall Street
All those Beasts—down in the Cellar
Tons of Brooklyn Gorillas—hanging around
Lots of Billy the Kids—Daughters of Dracula
Smorgasbords of—Blobs and Blaculas
But why are monsters—called monsters?
Most monsters—simply get born and die
They live their Hollywood lives—so what?
Why should they—be mean and vicious?
Maybe Monsters—are only human beings?
Movies and Monsters
“Non lettera scritta sed
lettera impressa manet.
Not the written word remains,
only the printed one.”
—Curt Siodmak
Monster movies—they don’t last
The Forties Universal monsters—
Classics like Dracula--Frankenstein
Ending up Abbott and Costello jokes
Monsters are only—all too human
Movies are full of—pages of written words
They die over time—zeitgeists come & go
But published books—and printed stories
Last forever—longer than those on films
Printed words—don't seem to die
Ponzi scheme monsters—wait to be born
How many new versions—of Brazil 1984
Simpering in the shadows—of Wall Street?
Waiting for headlines—printed words to
Catch up with—Mephostopheles motives?
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