The Temptation
By Harry E. Northup
The aloneness really hit me hard
after watching part of Bullitt
& The Bridge on the River Kwai,
after eating the Fisherman’s Platter
& a slice of Key Lime pie, I got a
book of Robinson Jeffers’ poems
went outside, sat on a bench & read
Easter’s tomorrow, salmon for lunch,
prime rib for supper
I return to my villa, wash the cat’s
bowl & sit in the breeze of orange
blossoms
To bridge death & resurrection
I choose poems, walks, food
& try to avoid the maskless laughter
far from the tender thighs
Death has given me an inner moistness
Breast to rest my head on
Aloneness has cradled me with worth
At least tears mean I’m alive
Harry E. Northup has had twelve books of poetry published, the latest being: Love Poem to MPTF (Cahuenga Press, 2020). He received his BA in English from California State University, Northridge, where he studied verse with Ann Stanford. Northup made a living as an actor for thirty-four years, acting in thirty-seven films, including Mean Streets (1973), Taxi Driver (1976 Palme d'Or winner at Cannes), The Silence of the Lambs (1991 Oscar Winner for Best Picture); he starred in the acclaimed cult film, Over the Edge. Lewis MacAdams, in the LA Weekly, wrote, "Northup is the poet laureate of East Hollywood."