The weather was perfect for making movies outside
I guess the war in Morocco
has made you cruel.
Where do you want me
to leave the whisky?
The black citroën waits outside
next to the blue peugeot.
How did Richard die?
Was it really a heart attack?
I suspect we both seek the same thing
so tell me something I don’t know.
What are you in Atlantic City for?
Are you still writing that unfinished novel.
You gather words at random
and I will have to order them.
I fear that fiction has already won over reality -
blood and mystery.
Tell me
what kind of second class tragedy
do I need to play for you?
after Made in the USA, directed by Jean-Luc Godard, 1966
Mark Roberts is a writer, critic and publisher based in the Blue Mountains west of Sydney, Australia. He is co-editor of Rochford Street Review and his latest collection, Concrete Flamingos, was published by Island Press.