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Hollywood Forever


by Steven Gowin


Sometime after midnight,
just off Midland Avenue,

John Huston leaves his mother's side
and strolls South toward the Paramount lot.
He takes a left on Maple Ave.

Johnny and Dee Dee, crack open
an Old Bushmill's and offer Huston a pull.
They light Chesterfield straights.

Across the way, the Fairbanks,
Pere and Fils, bicker over saber technique.
The disagreement turns pointed and violent as usual.

Adolphe Menjou and Fay Wray pity the
Fairbanks their loss of dignity
while Huston and the Ramones savor the jar.

Huston sips gently and lifts a finger to remind the boys,
In the end, every one gets what he deserves.

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