Poems Tributes | Tribute to Peter O’Toole

Arabian Prince
(Tribute to Peter O’Toole)
By Tatiana Pahlen

Since I first saw you on the screen
Your eyes sparkled like blue magnets.
Bewitched by your magnificence
Light shone throughout the epic film.
Your acting talent was bloody splendid!

Most know you as "Lawrence,"
Dressed in white garbs like a Bedouin.
Blissfully matched with Sharif and Quinn,
You glamorized the sands of Arabia,
Standing tall and lean.

Who can forget your entrance to "The Letterman Show."
Such grandeur! Riding a camel, smiling broadly,
swigging whiskey, puffing a cigar,
the crowd wildly cheering you on.
Watching the show I was stunned.

Stealing a million for the conquest
To get the girl to solve a case.
A charming detective, an unusual gent –
With Audrey Hepburn as your date,
Together you made a vital break!

I remember a crispy December
When you stepped from the Pierre Hotel;
With eyes turned upward to appraise the skies,
We waited for traffic to turn into a green light;
Slowly you sipped air charged with Christmas.

By lucky chance I stood near you;
Across the street my friends waived at me.
Praying that traffic would linger
I surveyed a treasure;
But to you I was just a bystander.

After eight nominations for the Golden Boy
They granted you a lifetime achievement.
A question to the Screen Actors Guild –
Who was behind this wicked ploy
That cheated O'Toole of his Oscar?

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