"Break From The Norm"

When I think of a Parkinson
It's chat show Michael
Dirty old Cecil
Or a shitty disease.
Sorry, dear boy Norman
But fashion icon or not
You and your photographs
Come a long way down the list.
So to make amends
I took my time
And looked at your pictures
Where they'd put on a show
At the National Theatre
A 'Century of Style'
Maybe yours, but not mine.
I'm more of a Primark man
Upmarket at Peacocks when I can,
A million miles away
From your fashion world.
Not that I don't appreciate your work
But it's all a little staged for me
Look to the left, dahling; tilt that head
Give me a spontaneous street scene instead.
You snapped them in the great magazines
But half a century ago, now all has beens
Old time glamour from the past
A who's who of fame that couldn't last
I prefer a snapshot freeze frame
Over a "whos' that?" celebrity name.
It's all posed with no real feel
For ordinary me there's no appeal.
Never mind Norman, don't fret old bean
Your show was free, so won't vent my spleen!

Dulwich Poet 14th May 2013

(There is an exhibition of photographs from the collection of the famous fashion photographer Norman Parkinson, to mark the centenary of his birth. It is on the South Bank, at the National Gallery, now extended until 27th May)