Eastman' S Hell Poem by Barry Van Allen

Ever since I was a kid,
I hated having pictures taken,
'cause I knew that they could never justify,
the spirit deep inside me.

Ever since I was a kid,
I have heard about those tribes,
that think that taking pictures,
will rob you of what is inside.

Ever since I was a kid,
and I used to ride my bike,
down to the big old house,
where everybody claimed it started,
and where he killed himself.

Ever since I was a kid,
the elephant has haunted me,
the staircase so magnificent,
and the indoor garden parties,
were always part of me.

Ever since I was a kid,
when they would let me in for free,
to take the daily tours,
and teach me of photography.

Ever since I was a kid,
and I saw that spinning movement,
and I saw those mirror pictures,
and I saw those brown and whites,
and I saw his garden, his billiard table,
and his whole house was as my own,
... but, of course it never was.

Ever since I've grown up,
I've come to know his legacy,
the company and city that he built,
- - - is where I live.

Today they blow his buildings up,
and yet they try to keep it going,
through his philanthropy and good intentions,
in his museum of photography.

The University perpetuates,
that word that he made up,
... he called it ' Kodak ',
and today it carries weight,
as a theater in Los Angeles,
where all the actors want to take the stage.

Ever since I was a kid,
they have rebuilt it once since then,
and have also added on,
and have the greatest archive,
of still and motion pictures in the world.

I still don't like my picture taken,
I'd rather keep it to myself,
and be forgotten, as it were,
but, make no mistake...

I know a good one when I see it,
and my teachers have done well,
throughout the years, within the tears,
have taught me what to know...
- - - I have simply chosen a different hell.