Saturday, September 12, 2009

"Streets that follow like a tedious argument..."


Don't ask me why, but T.S. Eliot's Love Song of J. Alfred Prufrock came to mind when I was taking this picture. These lines, actually:

Let us go then, you and I,
When the evening is spread out against the sky
Like a patient etherized upon a table;
Let us go, through certain half-deserted streets,
The muttering retreats
Of restless nights in one-night cheap hotels
And sawdust restaurants with oyster-shells:
Streets that follow like a tedious argument
Of insidious intent
To lead you to an overwhelming question ...
Oh, do not ask, “What is it?”

8 comments:

Judy Williams said...

WOW - that poem just kind of says it all doesn't it. Could you have illustrated it better? MAN!!!

Mister Earl said...

Just love that Eliot! Great photo as usual.

Saw a wonderful show last night: Susan Egan and Georgia Stitt, who are both about to have their second children, doing songs about motherhood in a show called All Knocked Up. What fantastic singing and humorous and teary songs. You would have loved it LA!

Yakpate said...

Wait a minute... I know that street. It looks like the road that leads to the subdivision where I grew up... Nirvana Village.

Anton Elohan Byers said...

There's definitely a glimmer of "Touch of Evil" here. I keep expecting an elongated, but still bulbous shadow of a sweaty Orson Welles to appear slowly from the right side of the picture, as a careening, Cadillac convertible roars by and all falls silent again. And then out of the silence comes a forlorn hubcap rolling, rolling, spinning and then clattering to the pavement like a giant hollow penny in slow motion. Back to silence and fade to black.

Natalie DeJohn said...

I can't tell which I love more, the photo or the poem. Very beautiful. Thank you for sharing.

TheChieftess said...

I have to say...my very first thought when I saw this pic was... "oh! Laurie's got a "War of the Worlds" thing goin' on!!!
Anton...love your movie scene...I think I've seen that movie!!!

Judy Williams said...

Anton!!! Wow - I'm captivated by your story and I can sooooo see it. Great idea!!!

Laurie Allee said...

You guys are great!

Anton, if you go back into my archives of nocturnal black and white shots, you'll see just how much I love noir.

Mister E, that show sounds great.

Thanks for indulging my love of night prowling with a camera. Til tomorrow...