North Carolina Literature into Film
N C L R ONLINE
15
Border Crossings by C.G. Thompson
Finalist in the 2011 James Applewhite Poetry Prize Competition
Instinct is what matters. Try not to overthink. Let your feet take the lead, rocking forward and back, forward and back, quarter-turning to “Wild, Wild West,” hip-hop song inspired by the movie version of a steam-punk show of years ago, song sampling from songs before, circle of influences like this two-wall line dance. Cha-cha-cha to the left, cha-cha-cha to the right,
Pillow Talk (cyanotype, 17x17) by Ben Isburg
face the opposite direction, cross over, cross over, start again, rock forward, readjust yourself in space. It’s best when you’re there, not there – too much presence self-conscious – so my mind drifts home, where my still-rolling VCR tapes episodes of The Green Hornet, 1960s series born as comic book, now remade for the big screen, one-eighty turn, one-eighty turn, but maintaining a cult following, its fame largely due to Bruce Lee. Relegated to the background then, as an Asian, he captured each scene he was in, fast-kicking in a chauffeur’s suit, giving millions their first view of martial arts. He studied Wing Chun, boxing, fencing, defined his style as no style, economy of motion, streetwise sense (a gunshot rings out from the song), influences he made his own. Become the fight, the dance.
C.G. Thompson won the NCSU Poetry Contest in 2008. In 2011, she studied in the Gilbert-Chappell Distinguished Poet Program. Her poetry has appeared in such venues as Tar River Poetry, Sandcutters, and the News & Observer. Another of her Applewhite competition poems will be published in NCLR 2012. She also writes short fiction.
Denver resident Ben Isburg received a BFA from Creighton University in 2001 and then studied art at ECU from 2002 to 2005. His work has been exhibited at Castell Photography Gallery in Asheville, NC, and at Lone Leaf Gallery in Washington, NC. NCLR Art Director DANA EZZELL GAY designed the layouts of the Green essay and this poem. See more information about her in the inside of the front cover.