The Eccentric Eye
(Salute to Peter Beard)
By Tatiana Pahlen

Once, an illustrious Jet Setter,
a graduate from Yale,
You think one's life could not be better
to be found on the best dressed list,
yet, evidently, not for him!
Fine gear reduced to a pair of sandals,
four seasons fitting one plain coat;
a faithful mate, a piercing camera,
Took over his forsaken world,
with lenses focused on the road.
Big-hearted lover of the fauna,
His snapshots fought against the cruelty
of hunted rhinos, cheetahs, crocodiles
Slain for their hides and aphrodisiacs;
blood all over his printed rolls . . .
Dali, Picasso, Andy Warhol,
Bardot, John Jr. and Jackie O,
Iman and Dickenson among his trophies,
Sir Jagger and Blixen mounted his horde;
A gang of models camped in Montauk.
He tried the death chair at San Quentin,
Relaxed inside the caiman's jaws,
Stomped by the feet of a rampant elephant
but suffered more from a bouncer's blow;
His diaries are odd and raw.
A man without breaks or fear,
an artist enduring his burning lens,
renowned photographer, Peter Beard,
who made his books a rare breed.
Once, an illustrious Jet Setter,
he honorably described himself,
"A parasite of subject matter,"
with harrowing disdain for wealth;
His precious prints are collected nectar.

January 22, 2005


Peter took a picture of me in his St. Vincent's hospital
room a few days after his accident with an elephant.


Peter reads and proofs my poems.


Peter, Morty and I are goofing around.

Copyright © 2005 Tatianyc. All Rights Reserved.