Impossible Masquerade

When you sit down to write a poem, you don’t have to be you. When you dive into a new collection of poems—say Sandra Yannone’s The Glass Studio—the excitement of a masquerade awaits, the poet inhabiting various masks, various aspects of herself as you move from poem to poem. Behind the mask, glimmers of something vital that each page has to offer.

Recently, I had the privilege of experiencing Sandra Yannone’s poetry in person, of listening rapt as she read from The Glass Studio, including a poem that turned my understanding of poetic masks upside down: “David Cassidy Writes Me a Fan Letter from the Great Painted Bus Beyond.” I know about letter poems. I know that often these poems take liberties—that a letter poem can address Kahlil Gibran, Josef Stalin, Anna Karenina, Joan of Arc—the possibilities are endless. But I’d not encountered a poem that achieves a double impossibility—a famous person no longer breathing writes to the author of the poem—until Sandy imagined David Cassidy writing to her teenage self.

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This remarkable poem surprises in two ways. David Cassidy and Sandy’s much younger self come to life on the page. Here’s a lovely moment in Cassidy’s voice:

I was hoping to be a firefly that feasted
on night flowers, leaving my scent behind
with my original songs, the ones no one heard
over the din of those pop hits that ABC’s money
moguls shoveled into my mouth.

And Cassidy’s insight into Sandy’s teen self:

       I know you gave
a private concert to Tara Hardy
in your living room, that you have two microphones
at the ready . . . when you feel inspired
by songs you wore down the needles
. . . to hear over and over.
. . . . . . . . . . . . . . .
       You know you are happier
when you are unlocked, unleashed . . .

Cassidy—the David he wants to be—as a firefly dipping to night flowers! Sandy, letting Cassidy reveal something about herself that shines brighter in his voice.

I’ve been so taken with “David Cassidy Writes Me a Fan Letter from the Great Painted Bus Beyond” that I’ve tried the double masquerade myself. Here’s the opening of my first attempt:

“Dr. Kildare Writes to a Texas Farmboy”

I pulled your chart so many times. Nights
after a shift, after the klieg lights went dark,

I made notes toward a diagnosis: reflexive
grinning syndrome. hyperactivity in the glands

that regulate optimism. You were watching me
in black and white—the TV screen, my doctor show

reflected back at you, who couldn’t know
that I was looking through a one-way mirror.

As an avid reader—and writer—of poetry, nothing makes me happier than a poem that takes me elsewhere. Thanks, Sandra Yannone!

My Question for You, Dear Reader/Writer:

Which character from bygone television (or movies) is writing to a younger version of you? What unique insights does this character offer into your former self?

Note:

I recommend two collections by Sandra Yannone:

The Glass Studio (Salmon Poetry, 2024).

Boats for Women (Salmon Poetry, 2019)

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