mmmmdcxxxix

Out of Order

The narrative floated
back and forth in time.
Sometimes things got
so mixed up that sep

arate events would
get jumbled together
as if they had literally
happened that way.

But did they? I
got to where I
couldn’t ascertain.
We liked to discuss

how this aspect of
the biopic emphasized
those layers of
complexity, and that

they give the audience
a sense of never
quite being aware
of exactly where

they were and what
was taking place.
Which pieces of this
somewhat off-kilter

puzzle transpired
in physical reality
and which were
merely small

conversations
or reactions

that took place
wholly within

the imagination
of the biographical
subject; what might
have simply been

hallucinatory?

Or could the story,
in being depicted
utilizing a combination

of “real” and “unreal”

pieces, simply be an
overarching metaphor
or juxtaposition through

which the audience
might in some real way
experience the years
of dementia through which

most of the central character’s
life so frantically, so tragically spun.