#benjamin clark

[theunderperformicist]

Loie Fuller

B. J. (Benjamin J.) Falk, 1901

[ineedtoreadmorepoetry]

The Emigrant by Benjamin Clark

Adieu to the land of my birth-- Proud land of the slave and the free! What charms have thy bosom on earth For men of complexion like me?

In this boasted land of the free I’ve suffered contumely and scorn; And cannot relate what I see Is reserved for millions unborn.

If places on earth can be found Untainted by slavery’s breath, I’ll find them, or search the world round Till my sorrows are ended in death.

Thy liberty is but a name-- A byword--a jargon, in fine! Thy freemen of colour--oh shame!-- Are glad to escape from thy clime!

Adieu to thy stripes and thy stars, That vauntingly float o’er the main! Adieu to thy Lynch-laws and jars, Thy fetters, thy charter, and chain!

I go to the Isles of the Sea, Where men are not judged by their hue! Where all are protected and free-- My native land, therefore, adieu!

[clarkfamily]

Ian with his newborn son, Ben

[quelclark]

WHAT A SHAME

watched it all up close I knew him more than most I saw a side of him, he never showed Full of sympathy for a world that Wouldn't let him beThat's the man he was Have you heard enough?What a shame, what a shame To judge a life that you can't change The choir sings, the church bells ring So, won't you give this man his wings? What a shame, to have to beg you to See we're not all the same What a shame

[evilvampyrduck]

Somerset Aesthetics: Benjamin Clark

@quelclark

[whosthatknocking]

WestWorld (1973), dir. Michael Crichton

[whosthatknocking]

Children Shouldn’t Play with Dead Things (1973), dir. Bob Clark

[theemptyhorizon]

Confession

Slowly I close the door to the house and take a seat on the porch steps, thudding bass lines and kick drums rattle the door a little. Housewarming party for someone I barely know. All I knew was that she would be there, I’d been avoiding her lately, I had so much to say and if I said it sober, I’d just make myself look like an idiot. I keep doing this, wanting to speak to her but back down because it might be weird or she might freak. I take another swig of beer, observing the serenity of the night. The cloudless night sky, dotted with distant stars and constellations, allows the full moon to bathe the streets in its gentle glow, somehow the streetlights only had to that feeling. Aside from the music the only sounds to hear are of sleeping suburbia, the occasional car engine and scurrying of nocturnal creatures and a slow breeze that gently shakes the trees and bushes so their shadows dance in the moonlight. I take a deep breath, losing myself a bit in the night. The door shuts from behind me, I sit up in reaction. It’s her, why is she out here? Did she come looking for me? I try to compose myself and take a drink but I end up choking a bit on it and coughing up a lung almost. She giggles as she sits on the step just behind me.   ‘Oh wow, are you okay?’ She says, the concern in her voice touches me a little. ‘Yeah don’t worry, I’m okay.’ Her face shows disbelief as she brushes loose strands of her sleek auburn hair. ‘But you’re out here on your own, at a party…’ I can feel my eyes start to water, I take another swig of my beer; I’m nearly out. ‘… Something’s not right, talk to me.’ A deep breath is needed. I tell her everything, all the thoughts and feelings I’ve kept hidden away, too scared to talk to her about. It’s all making itself known. She says nothing throughout, simply smiles and acknowledges everything I say. After all the alcohol induced tears and heart ache, she responds with a hug. That embrace tells me all I need to know and the tears come back in force. ‘Everything okay now?’ She asks. Relief makes me smile and part of myself thinks happiness or at least stability might not be far off. But, the nagging voice, that small thought that this is only temporary. Tears of gushing relief turn back to quiet sadness. She looks confused. ‘No.’ ‘Why not?’ I inhale. ‘Because I’m never going to have this conversation with you.’ I exhale as everything behind me fades. The thumping music turns back to the soft breeze blowing its way through the streets. Her warm presence leaves me, all I feel is the cool stone step offering no comfort. My face was never wet with tears, only a grim indifference to the night’s stillness. I finish my beer, the bitter taste is sobering. But I’m going to need another. I get up of my porch step and walk in and out of the shadows between the streetlights. It’s going to be another cold night.