'Brooklyn Cop' by Norman MacCaig



Brooklyn Cop

 

Built like a gorilla but less timid,                                   

thick‑fleshed, steak‑coloured, with two

hieroglyphs in his face that mean

trouble, he walks the sidewalk and the

5        thin tissue over violence. This morning,

when he said, "See you, babe" to his wife,

he hoped it, he truly hoped it.

He is a gorilla

to whom "Hiya, honey" is no cliché.

 

10      Should the tissue tear, should he plunge through

into violence, what clubbings, what

gunshots between Phoebe's Whamburger       

and Louie's Place.

 

Who would be him, gorilla with a nightstick,

15      whose home is a place

he might, this time, never get back to?

 

And who would be who have to be

his victims?

 

by Norman MacCaig

Popular posts from this blog

'Gran Torino' (dir.Clint Eastwood) - 'Sacrifice' sequence screenplay

Image
Evening – It is dark. Low level shot of gang’s flats. Virtually Walt’s point of view. Reverse shot of Walt approaching flats. Sound of crickets, dog barking and people within buildings. Closer shot of flats. Blind moves. Smokie exits door to top of steps, followed by Spider. Smokie and Spider’s point of view shot of Walt.             WALT            Any swamp rats in there? Long shot from behind Walt           SMOKIE           I didn’t think your ass would have came...           WALT           Shut up, gook!   Medium shot of Smokie and Spider Low angled long shot of Walt. Reverse shot – another door opens. Back to low angle reverse shot of Walt.                      WALT           I got nothing to say to you, shrimp d**k midget like you.   Walt’s point of view of Smokie and Spider. Spider pulls his PISTOL. Shot of someone watching from shadows of a balcony. Low angle long shot of Walt.             WALT           Yeah, yeah. Watch out for your boyfriend  
Read more

Character Development - Walt Kowalski - 'Gran Torino' (dir. Clint Eastwood)

The following item gives an account of the development of the character of Walt Kowalski in 'Gran Torino'. Reading it may be useful in understanding the sorts of things you could explain in a critical essay. Also, the development of the character of Walt is important in the film, because it goes hand in hand with the development of his relationship with Thao and the development of the theme of respect. Clearly, since this is taken from the internet, it cannot be copied. This would be plagiarism.. A film in which there is a character who becomes a hero is ‘Gran Torino’, directed by and starring Clint Eastwood. The story is set in modern day Detroit, where the central character, Walt Kowalski, a retired car plant worker and Korean War veteran, struggles to come to terms with the changes in his community. In particular, the plot revolves around his unlikely friendship with Thao, a teenage boy from a Hmong immigrant family. The first time we see Walt is a close up of his a
Read more