- Keith Banner
Barbara Stanwyck
how many cigarettes
did barbara stanwyck smoke
her whole goddamn career?
infinity is the answer
an infinite number of cigarettes
being lit, the smoke
even unfilmed
blown out of such
dedicated lips
every movie
makes you understand
the working class
even when she was trolling
and doing some uptight
queen, she was hard-core
she was the the bitch you
do not mess with
the one lady you
fear
that combination of
mousy and determined
that is where
her glamour
is located that nexus
not giving 1 shit and
then letting you know in secret
she can kill you
with one
beautiful
exhalation
phyllis does me in
everytime
double indemnity for those who don't know
platinum-blonde california
housewife
at the wheel of her
stupid car
and fred macmurray
strangling her stupid husband
but the camera
on her
face, her expression
a gorgeous mask of need
and vengeance
and curdled love
she knows
what life is
once it is snuffed out
