Sunday, March 24, 2013

Dining with Kate...


The long private driveway to the gate
met a green sign that read  "Welcome to Fenwick"
Me, myself... I... had been invited to dine with Kate
Opening the door with a deep bow,                                                    
she greeted me with "Hello, welcome to
Old Saybrook", directing me to a seat.
"Here, my dear, you have a lovely view of the water."
I was in awe of her presence
and wondered who else I might meet
of the famous and elite
My knees felt weak..

Cocktails and hors'd ourves,
open spaces
filling now with conversation,
playful banter among guests
even harmless practical jokes..
She loved puzzles
and games and a good book
Spencer stood smiling near the piano..
Soul mates...but she never married him..
..chances he would divorce his
catholic wife, slim
Lauren Bacall and Peter O'Toole
conferred while her brother
 mingled with minor leading ladies..
I spotted Paul and Joanne

"Little Women" ushered her to fame
 George Cukor's protoge'..
he discovered she was compelling
in strong women's roles
able to portray
them as romantic, athletic
vulnerable, or austere
She won four Academy Awards
in her long career
Her head shook and hands trembled..
the onset of Parkinson's occurred
while filming with
a young Sidney Poitier..

We spoke of her childhood memories..
her doctor father and mother,
leader of women's rights
I told her my favorite movies...
Philadelphia Story
with Cary Grant
and Jimmy Stewart
and Woman of the Year..
of course there was the comedy
with the leopard named Baby
I asked what were her best and
worst moments..
She said she loved acting with Bogey..
but she was allergic
to the African cedar tree!

She made me feel at ease that night...
and said we could later all go for a swim
After a good night's sleep in the
cozy guest room,
the housekeeper served us
tea with toast and jam                                                                                                            Fenwick
where we chatted in the library
She wore her signature turtleneck
slacks and long sleeved jacket shirt
her hair in a bun, sensible,
independent, could stand her ground
in a fight

Then she grabbed my shoulders
with both hands....giving them a shake...
"Do come again, dear"..
kissing me on the cheek...waving her arm high.
and said "Goodbye"..



                                                                                           
At dversepoets.com       today Claudia asks us to write a poem about a hypothetical  conversation or meeting with a well known or historical person; all are extremely interesting if you want to take  look.                                                                                                                                                                    
My original poem disappeared so this is a second write, without a lot of the rhyme I had in the other one, trying to remember what I wrote, but it's the wee hours,  so it's more sloppy than the first one ...;;)



24 comments:

  1. How nice that would be to be in a company like that...

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  2. I do think Kate would be a most gracious host really. She had class, real class, and I don't think she would be intimidating to dine / spend time with at all. I had not realized she had Parkinson's Disease though. Very sad.

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  3. Wonderful! I take it you're a big fan, because you painted a perfect and accurate picture of her!

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  4. ...i don't know Kate but with this wonderful encounter you described it was like i was there too watching her & starstrucked ... though i would also demand for a kiss... hehe...

    smiles...

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  5. what a good time this would be. i would drive her crazy, i know, just begging her to use the word yar - just once. :)

    and by the way, i love this bit: "while her brother mingled with minor leading ladies.. ".

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    1. I'm glad you enjoyed it..mostly her fans would..I've read a lot about her and yes, the 'yar'..

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  6. oh i am sorry your first disappeared ack...no fun and frustrating....for being so tired you did really well on the second run...you paint her in a very endearing light...i know her only through a few of her movies but she has spirit...and class...smile.

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  7. wow..that was a quite intimate conversation about her childhood memories..her fam... would def. be interesting to be able to talk to her...love how you weave in details like her being allergic to that tree as well...and ugh on the disappearing of the first poem...frustrating..

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    1. yes..I almost bagged it..feel my writing is slipping..perhaps need a break.. thank you claudia

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    2. what makes you feel your writing is slipping?

      one thing you could do is make sure you write once a week for yourself. no prompt, just what you need to get out...i started doing that a few months back...or getting back to it and found it rather refreshing...

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    3. sounds like a good idea..I know it's normal to have blocks or lapses..thanks..

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  8. I cannot imagine what she ever saw in Spencer Tracy!

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  9. Love every line and glad I decided not to post something on her as she had crossed my mind. She and Spencer are two of my all time favorites stars and how I would have loved to meet her..if only once.

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    1. A great acting team..The Desk Set..Pat & Mike??

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  10. So imaginative and well done! A wonderful fantasy verse!

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    1. Thank you..it's how would have liked it to have been ;)

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  11. OH, it's so awful when that happens - but this is a lovely poem nevertheless. I do admire Katharine Hepburn: the epitome of intelligence and elegance - she must have had some great stories to tell.

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    Replies
    1. ...I have a couple of books about her which contain some of those stories ;)

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  12. Great party--well done. Thanks for following me, I'm looking forward to receiving your posts.

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  13. I just loved reading this, and one of my very favorite actresses too!
    Wishing you a wonderful day!

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  14. Sigh.
    Wouldn't that have been divine?
    xoxo,
    p

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  15. Oh, I'm so glad you and Edward enjoyed this! ;)

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All comments, constructive and otherwise, are welcome and appreciated here. Thank you to those who show an interest in my quirky style of writing, photography, painting, and presenting a feeling or thought and for stopping by A Dwelling by the Sea..