A red tie and his notebook
Are all he needs to begin
The dissection.

He enters the centre-left
Of his brain through a hole
That blooms on the right, like a rosebud.

And the imagery flows…

A kiosk with a cherry tree growing
Through the roof, the heart-shaped
Blossom dancing in the wind…

A chubby union rep, clutching his
Little red book, chuntering about
The two cats entwined around his legs…

A fat Scottish banker
Shuffling the cards,
Stacking the deck against him…

A slack-jawed cowboy, six shooters
Gleaming at his hips,
War paint smudged under his glazed eyes…

A snappy dressed con-man
Sipping his espresso
Daydreaming about an oasis in the desert…

Three army boys, winged-knives on sleeves,
Hunting for munitions
In the ruins of Baghdad…

A movie directed by someone clever.
Himself played by someone pretty.
The script, historically accurate, about his Nobel peace prize…

A desert road, lined with SCUD missiles,
Swaying like Cypress trees,
Behind them, crying children and clattering bones……

And he washes them away with his tears.

---

Sigmund Freud, Austrian neurologist, founder of psychoanalysis, was born today in 1856.

Orson Welles, American actor, director and producer, was born on this day in 1915.

Tony Blair, Prime minister of the United Kingdom, was born today in 1953.

George Clooney, American actor, director and producer, was born on this day in 1961.