---

 

This writing was accepted for publication in the 108 page perfect-bound ISSN# / ISBN# issue/book “Wintering Over” Down in the Dirt v214 (12/23) Order the paperback book:

Order this writing that appears in the one-of-a-kind anthology Instant Karma the Down in the Dirt September-December 2023 issues collection book		get the 422 page September-December 2023 Down in the Dirt 6" x 9" ISBN# perfect-bound paperback book:

The Scrapbook

Mark Belair

He was a troubled, lonely, angry man.
A British expatriate in the States.

An unschooled but capable musician—
vibes and vocals in

his glamorous accent—
for the cocktail lounge set.

Rodney’s polished act concealed
his problematic self, so my parents—

regulars at his restaurant gig—innocently
befriended him.

In private, Rodney couldn’t retain his bandstand disguise.
Yet my parents retained his friendship for years, unwilling

to reduce him to what lurked and paced
behind the curtain of his upbeat show.

After Rodney took ill, retired, then died, my father handled
his scant yet complicated—England was involved—estate.

Years later, culling his own effects, my father found
the last memento of Rodney’s life: his photo scrapbook.

There Rodney was—a London boy playing
in shorts during the Second World War.

There he was—playing postwar gigs
as a teen with musicians twice his age.

There were his smiling parents
and rumpled relations.

There were his friends on bikes.
There was the countryside they rode through together.

There was a life.
And a lie.

Because every happy photo of his grim youth, he
once told my parents, was staged, forced, a sham.

Still—as my father didn’t want it—
I took the scrapbook home.

For the photos in its plastic sleeves
held, in their fakery, something real.

Held the dark shadows
behind Rodney’s spotlit show.

Held his tentative, then ruling
performance pose.

Held Rodney, young as he was, already
calcifying his shell.

Copyright of written pieces remain with the author, who has allowed it to be shown through Scars Publications and Design.Web site © Scars Publications and Design. All rights reserved. No material may be reprinted without express permission from the author.

Problems with this page? Then deal with it...