Countrymen by james bezerra

Countrymen
by james bezerra

I wish,
oh I wish
that Alfred Hitchcock
had made a movie about Winston Churchill.
And that in that Winston Churchill Movie -
made by Alfred Hitchcock -
Alfred Hitchcock would’ve
played Winston Churchill.

Because while I love Winston Churchill,
and movies made by Alfred Hitchcock,
when I try to imagine either man -
in my head -
I fear that I confuse them.

Both are black & white.
Both have English accents.
Both are rolli-polli round and pale.

And I know that I do them each a disrespect
by not remembering them better.
So if only Alfred Hitchcock had made
The Winston Churchill Movie, then perhaps
you would forgive me,
for confusing them so.

Or perhaps, if Winston Churchill had led
a nation comprised of only Aldred Hitchcocks,
then surely my confusion could be excused.

But what a strange history that would be.
Winston saying to his people, “We
will fight them on the beaches, we will fight them on the landing grounds …”
and when he says “we” what he means is Alfred Hitchcock.
Alfred Hitchcock in a Spitfire over London. Alfred Hitchcock evacuating from Dunkirk. Alfred Hitchcock doing battle in the desert with Rommel. Alfred Hitchcock breaking Enigma. Alfred Hitchcock rationing gas. Alfred Hitchcock keeping calm and carrying on. Alfred Hitchcocks pulling, from the buzz bomb rubble of London, the bodies of other Alfred Hitchcocks.

What an odd world it would have been, if every Briton had been an Alfred Hitchcock.
Every Briton, of course, but Winston Churchill, who looks pretty much that way anyway.

So if only either of those scenarios had been true,
then I might have a good excuse
for confusing these men in
the way that I do.




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