Stoneface Society

In a lunchtime schoolroom,
Twenty children sit, or slouch,
Choosing to pass the time
With long dead stars of silver screen.

They watch enchanted, glee rising
Unbidden, unstoppable to their lips
As Stan winches Ollie up impossibly,
With rope and block and tackle,
Then much more probably lets him fall.

Or gradually they fall beneath the spell
Of gentle Monsieur Hulot, step by bouncing step,
A giant human chicken, with chaos in his wake
Charming his way through seaside France.

Or best of all, they watch amazed,
The great Stoneface himself,
With stunt after breathtaking stunt
Confronting the world and all its traps.
His stoic, unflappable gaze remains
As houses fall, storms rage and villains shoot;
Leaping from carriage to carriage,
Falling down chutes, or up through windows,
Diving through a pedlar's belly, or
Walking from the stalls into a film.


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