Longtime Louise Brooks fan Shawn D. Standfast sent me a poem "about Louise Brooks" titled "Nitrate and Gin." It comes from his 2019 collection Dark Passages: Moments of Transition, published by Sirens Calls Press. Copies of the book can be purchased through amazon HERE.
Nitrate and Gin
A dancer from Kansas
Cherryvale born and bred
Dancing gave you opportunity
Your ticket to New York City
You met the juggling man
Found The street of forgotten men
Dreams flickered on the silver screen
Seeped in nitrate and gin
A jazz baby moving with rhythm
Flowing lines with acting so sublime
A social celebrity in silk stockings
A Venus in evening gowns
Lost in a world of make believe
Choices made upon a whim
Going where boredom led
Not wanting to play their game
Speeding your way to Berlin
Leaving a beggar’s life behind
Fame and immortality waited
Lulu was your destiny
Returning to Hollywood full of hope
Only to find the marquee lights fading
Replaced by bit parts and empty promises
A lost girl imprisoned by Pandora’s Box
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