from GI Joe and friends

These short films or "Public Service Announcements From GI Joe and Friends" will make your sides hurt. I saw a few last night at the Short Film Brigade hosted by The Hideout. You can see some other fun stuff on Eric Fensler's site (the creator of the GI Joe shorts).

My favorite short from last night was probably Alix Lambert's "Stanley Kunitz: Poet Laureate." Alix is Stanley's grand-niece. She created this nine-minute film in 2001 when Stanley was 95. Sadly, Stanley died last year. The film shows his great sense of humor and love for writing, music, and gardening.

Here's one of his many poems that I like:

The Long Boat
When his boat snapped loose
from its mooring, under
the screaking of the gulls,
he tried at first to wave
to his dear ones on shore,
but in the rolling fog
they had already lost their faces.
Too tired even to choose
between jumping and calling,
somehow he felt absolved and free
of his burdens, those mottoes
stamped on his name-tag:
conscience, ambition, and all
that caring.
He was content to lie down
with the family ghosts
in the slop of his cradle,
buffeted by the storm,
endlessly drifting.
Peace! Peace!
To be rocked by the Infinite!
As if it didn't matter
which way was home;
as if he didn't know
he loved the earth so much
he wanted to stay forever.