The last wail of a dying breed,
a thunderous eight cylinder bellow
facilitated by perpetual ignition,
by the constant cranking of pistons
and the onslaught of fresh oil.
Yet the habitat of the V8 diminished.
The roads it roamed in ancient times
now infested by silent hybrids
and lifeless, whirring batteries,
imitations of the age of oil.
Perhaps it was inevitable.
To survive by guzzling and burning
fuel till the fumes choked the sky,
the eight pistons rattled along
until their sustenance evaporated.
On a few isolated country roads,
a distant roar can be heard
by those who stop and listen
for a rising and falling vibrato,
the final note of the melody.
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Showing posts with label cars. Show all posts
Wednesday, 11 April 2018
Wednesday, 19 April 2017
NaPoWriMo #19: Spitfire Swing
He's done it ladies and gentlemen. After nineteen days I've finally broken my record from the last NaPoWriMo two years ago. To mark the occasion, I present another car poem, this time about a classic British sports car.
Spitfire Swing
The older cousin of later Triumphs,
yet overshadowed by its relatives
both older and younger.
Low slung, bulging headlights,
narrow grill, flared curves
along its back wheel-arches.
Not as fearsome as the Stag,
not as refined as the 2000,
Not as alloyed as the Dolly Sprint,
yet as swift as a gazelle
when it meets a turn in the road
and as fast as the best of its league.
Spitfire Swing
The older cousin of later Triumphs,
yet overshadowed by its relatives
both older and younger.
Low slung, bulging headlights,
narrow grill, flared curves
along its back wheel-arches.
Not as fearsome as the Stag,
not as refined as the 2000,
Not as alloyed as the Dolly Sprint,
yet as swift as a gazelle
when it meets a turn in the road
and as fast as the best of its league.
Thursday, 13 April 2017
NaPoWriMo #13: Chrome
Yet another car themed poem graces the blog today for NaPoWriMo. This time, I talk about a feature of classic cars which is not seen often on today's vehicles.
Chrome
There was a time when chrome
caressed the curves of cars.
The bumpers, the doors, the headlights,
those vehicles were adorned
with mirror-metal.
Prestige, that's what those
silver trimmings meant,
and still mean after forty years
of sitting in someone's garage.
Then the plastic and fibres arrived,
and chrome faded into dull metal,
the polish set aside
for sunny Sunday afternoons,
to see the sunshine once in a long summer.
Chrome
There was a time when chrome
caressed the curves of cars.
The bumpers, the doors, the headlights,
those vehicles were adorned
with mirror-metal.
Prestige, that's what those
silver trimmings meant,
and still mean after forty years
of sitting in someone's garage.
Then the plastic and fibres arrived,
and chrome faded into dull metal,
the polish set aside
for sunny Sunday afternoons,
to see the sunshine once in a long summer.
Tuesday, 11 April 2017
NaPoWriMo #11: Flight of the Veyron
It seems cars are becoming a regular feature of my NaPoWriMo journey. We've already had one poem about the legendary Jaguar E-Type, so here's one about the equally majestic speed king itself.
Flight of the Veyron
A thousand horses
imprisoned in sixteen cylinders,
released at the press of a foot
on the throttle.
From the horse and cart
to a car with the face
of a big cat in a trance,
fixated on the track,
on moving in a straight line
faster than any speed warrior
has travelled before.
Hugging the tarmac,
retracting its rear spoiler
like a peacock's train
and tearing down the road
in a blur worthy of hyperspace.
Flight of the Veyron
A thousand horses
imprisoned in sixteen cylinders,
released at the press of a foot
on the throttle.
From the horse and cart
to a car with the face
of a big cat in a trance,
fixated on the track,
on moving in a straight line
faster than any speed warrior
has travelled before.
Hugging the tarmac,
retracting its rear spoiler
like a peacock's train
and tearing down the road
in a blur worthy of hyperspace.
Sunday, 19 March 2017
The Tiger Poet vs. Mad Max: Fury Road
In 2015 I went to see Mad Max: Fury Road at the cinema with a friend of mine who also happens to be a poet. I was fairly familiar with the Mad Max franchise beforehand; I distinctly recall watching The Road Warrior at some point although I didn't really understand what the film was all about. This time, with a bit more knowledge of George Miller's post-apocalyptic world, I was able to appreciate the artistry of the wasteland even more.
What followed was one of the most spectacular and operatic action films I've ever seen. Praise for Fury Road is nothing new; indeed, it seems every major publication felt the same as me back in the summer of 2015. Everyone was singing the film's praises as an operatic work of action and chaos on a scale nobody had ever seen. It was extraordinary how George Miller had been able to return to Mad Max after more than two decades and revive the franchise in tremendous fashion.
Of course, as with every great success, there were some detractors. There were those who felt Fury Road was more style over substance, substituting over-the-top action for complex plotting, and there was also a boycott by those claiming the film was a feminist propaganda piece. I'm not too bothered about the latter criticism, as having watched Fury Road a few times now I feel the feminist aspect of the film forms a strong background theme. It feels organic to the story rather than something forced upon an old franchise as the boycotters claim.
It goes without saying that Furiosa, as played by Charlize Theron, is one of the best action heroines of recent times. The fact that she is the real main character of the film is testament to how much thought George Miller and his co-writers put into her role. Although Max Rockatansky is still the central figure of this tale, his role as an observer to the events in the wasteland allows Furiosa to take much of the narrative heft, giving the film a strong emotional center. The character Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult, is also part of this, providing a great deconstruction of the redshirts often seen in franchises subservient to the main villain.
Speaking of which, what villains Fury Road has indeed. Immortan Joe, the tyrannical warlord of the Citadel, is likewise a great deconstruction of villain archetypes. While he is certainly fearsome and imposing, it is mostly a front to disguise an aging man suffering from disease who retains control by maintaining a ferocious façade. His two lieutenants, the Bullet Farmer and the People Eater, add terrific character to the proceedings, with the former having a particularly memorable scene when he attacks the War Rig by himself. Nux's aforementioned deconstruction of the foot soldier is further highlighted when contrasted with his lancer Slit, who has fully embraced the War Boy philosophy yet is spiteful and bitter compared to Nux's wide-eyed, child-like innocence.
It's this attention to strong themes and a straightforward narrative that elevates the already ballistic action-scenes. Most of the film is an extended car chase with a few pauses for breath, with an attitude that tells the audience to join the ride or step off if they can't keep up, an attitude conveyed by the terrific editing by Margaret Sixel. The cars themselves are in many ways the true stars of the film. The War Rig is the most important of these, a fearsome beast of burden which acts as a mobile fort for Max, Furiosa and the Wives. The two-tiered Gigahorse is a monstrous engineering achievement, as are the People Eater's limousine and the aptly named Peacmaker. However, the most striking of the vehicles is the Doof Wagon, a lorry slash mobile music stage carrying drummers on the back, and the Doof Warrior on the front. Playing a flame throwing double-necked guitar, he provides a constant heavy metal soundtrack to the chase and is quite possibly the greatest side character ever put to film.
I think by this point it may seem like I'm gushing about Fury Road quite a bit. It's true that the lack of a complex narrative is likely to put some people off, along with the lack of explanation for the film's mythology. Also, having seen the film with my parents, I can say that the onslaught of never-ending action could do a few people's heads in, but that's what's great about Fury Road. It's an brilliantly constructed opera of mayhem, and not a lot of films are that.
What followed was one of the most spectacular and operatic action films I've ever seen. Praise for Fury Road is nothing new; indeed, it seems every major publication felt the same as me back in the summer of 2015. Everyone was singing the film's praises as an operatic work of action and chaos on a scale nobody had ever seen. It was extraordinary how George Miller had been able to return to Mad Max after more than two decades and revive the franchise in tremendous fashion.
Of course, as with every great success, there were some detractors. There were those who felt Fury Road was more style over substance, substituting over-the-top action for complex plotting, and there was also a boycott by those claiming the film was a feminist propaganda piece. I'm not too bothered about the latter criticism, as having watched Fury Road a few times now I feel the feminist aspect of the film forms a strong background theme. It feels organic to the story rather than something forced upon an old franchise as the boycotters claim.
It goes without saying that Furiosa, as played by Charlize Theron, is one of the best action heroines of recent times. The fact that she is the real main character of the film is testament to how much thought George Miller and his co-writers put into her role. Although Max Rockatansky is still the central figure of this tale, his role as an observer to the events in the wasteland allows Furiosa to take much of the narrative heft, giving the film a strong emotional center. The character Nux, played by Nicholas Hoult, is also part of this, providing a great deconstruction of the redshirts often seen in franchises subservient to the main villain.
Speaking of which, what villains Fury Road has indeed. Immortan Joe, the tyrannical warlord of the Citadel, is likewise a great deconstruction of villain archetypes. While he is certainly fearsome and imposing, it is mostly a front to disguise an aging man suffering from disease who retains control by maintaining a ferocious façade. His two lieutenants, the Bullet Farmer and the People Eater, add terrific character to the proceedings, with the former having a particularly memorable scene when he attacks the War Rig by himself. Nux's aforementioned deconstruction of the foot soldier is further highlighted when contrasted with his lancer Slit, who has fully embraced the War Boy philosophy yet is spiteful and bitter compared to Nux's wide-eyed, child-like innocence.
It's this attention to strong themes and a straightforward narrative that elevates the already ballistic action-scenes. Most of the film is an extended car chase with a few pauses for breath, with an attitude that tells the audience to join the ride or step off if they can't keep up, an attitude conveyed by the terrific editing by Margaret Sixel. The cars themselves are in many ways the true stars of the film. The War Rig is the most important of these, a fearsome beast of burden which acts as a mobile fort for Max, Furiosa and the Wives. The two-tiered Gigahorse is a monstrous engineering achievement, as are the People Eater's limousine and the aptly named Peacmaker. However, the most striking of the vehicles is the Doof Wagon, a lorry slash mobile music stage carrying drummers on the back, and the Doof Warrior on the front. Playing a flame throwing double-necked guitar, he provides a constant heavy metal soundtrack to the chase and is quite possibly the greatest side character ever put to film.
I think by this point it may seem like I'm gushing about Fury Road quite a bit. It's true that the lack of a complex narrative is likely to put some people off, along with the lack of explanation for the film's mythology. Also, having seen the film with my parents, I can say that the onslaught of never-ending action could do a few people's heads in, but that's what's great about Fury Road. It's an brilliantly constructed opera of mayhem, and not a lot of films are that.
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