Hook and I

Hook. Hmmm - it's got to be JM Barrie, Peter Pan and all that Neverland shenanigans. I was always fascinated by the implications of having George Darling [father of Wendy, John and Michael] and Captain Hook played by the same actor, a suggestion first made to Barrie by Gerald du Maurier, who took both roles in the original 1904 production and one that has subsequently become a tradition.

I don't know how many theatregoers [children or adult] down the years have even been aware of this dualism, but as a device it's loaded with psychological resonance, a way of representing aspects of the complex dynamics at the heart of parent-child relationships: love, discipline, respect, freedom of expression, degrees of dependence or independence, trust, anger, wilfulness, frustration, caring and on and on. 

Today's poem attempts a singular take on the theme, a father's-eye view of the drama. The picture is just a visual pun...

Hook and I

Hook and I,

twin aspects woven

from a common thread:

a face of love

a face of dread.

 

In the tapestry of dreams,

spun boundless from

your softly sleeping head,

fierce battles are engaged.

 

By force of will

you foil the dark oppressor

with his claw of steel

and fly triumphant

to your lair…

 

while in the mundane world

you lie defenceless,

toss and turn as I,

with caring hand,

smoothe down your counterpane

and stroke your tousled hair.

Thanks for reading and have a good week, S :-)