..graffiti on the walls as the channel train rolls into Gare du Nord
a rude and nonchalant response to a "un(e) carnet sil vouz plais"
a stench-filled RER passing through the suburbs into the centre
a character scarved, perfumed and chic, yet scruffy and smelly..
..of tobacco, garlic, cheese and wine!
I smell a freshly baked baguette,croissant,a cafe au lait,
a caffe, a bar tabac, a brasserie round the corner everywhere..
a waiter so annoyed when asked for a dish with no meat
and more annoyed when I sent back a dish for it had oeuf!
..and yet when the dish came back anew,oh boy! did I devour every last bit like I had never eaten before!
..a man in his sixties in his own world like I never exist,
not caring a damn, not a look , not a glance..
yet when in broken French I ask for the nearest metro to the Tour..
an affectionate arm over my shoulder, another pointing to my map..
a face leaned right into mine,making me flinch and blush..
a gregarious voice crooning into my ears-the quickest way is to walk!
..then awkward parting smiles, a merci , an au revoir and a kiss
that might well have been French just had I let it be!
.. I walk from the Arc to the Concorde along the Champs..
peer inside a Cartier, a Chanel, a Guerlain , a LouisVitton..
and hopping into a Bateuex Mouches, I float along the Seine...
gaping in awe at la Louvre, Le Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville and Musee D'Orsay..
.. and at night I ride up the Tour De Eiffel as if in a trance
mesmerised, enchanted and hopelessly in love with the City of light!
..with a friend, a niece, the spouse ,year after year, this journey do I make..
a ritual in Rue de Bourgogne over a galette and a crepe au citron,
a tagine in a Moroccon I can never forget!
listen in across tables, lip-sync with the locals when they speak and smile at their eccentricities,
crack up when the metro arrives in R(H)ome and Mir(h)omil..
and always say the H out loud when taking a Sor(h)tie!!!(ALWAYS)
be fascinated by the priceless expression on a crazy gal's face
as she saw the shimmering lights of the Tour Eiffel for the very first time..
or sometimes take a solitary walk along the boulevards
smelling the fleurs in a marche, hoping for a vente in the shops..
peering into the windows of the apartment blocks, wondering what must be going on in their Parisien lives!
Paris - I am not done with yet, for there is lots more left to see,
the catacombs, the museums and the cathedrals that beckon me.
where looking over from the hills of the Sacre Couer, I feel free..
where every thought feels like a poem on a rhyming spree..
a city whose light shines even on the other side of the sea
bleeds today like a wounded prey on flee..
Here I seek yet once more, a rendevous with this place..
Time and again a journey, I promise to undertake,
fearlessly and with pride in my heart ablaze,
I shall seek out the next cafe for a piece of rich chocolate cake..
-r
a rude and nonchalant response to a "un(e) carnet sil vouz plais"
a stench-filled RER passing through the suburbs into the centre
a character scarved, perfumed and chic, yet scruffy and smelly..
..of tobacco, garlic, cheese and wine!
I smell a freshly baked baguette,croissant,a cafe au lait,
a caffe, a bar tabac, a brasserie round the corner everywhere..
a waiter so annoyed when asked for a dish with no meat
and more annoyed when I sent back a dish for it had oeuf!
..and yet when the dish came back anew,oh boy! did I devour every last bit like I had never eaten before!
..a man in his sixties in his own world like I never exist,
not caring a damn, not a look , not a glance..
yet when in broken French I ask for the nearest metro to the Tour..
an affectionate arm over my shoulder, another pointing to my map..
a face leaned right into mine,making me flinch and blush..
a gregarious voice crooning into my ears-the quickest way is to walk!
..then awkward parting smiles, a merci , an au revoir and a kiss
that might well have been French just had I let it be!
.. I walk from the Arc to the Concorde along the Champs..
peer inside a Cartier, a Chanel, a Guerlain , a LouisVitton..
and hopping into a Bateuex Mouches, I float along the Seine...
gaping in awe at la Louvre, Le Notre Dame, Hotel De Ville and Musee D'Orsay..
.. and at night I ride up the Tour De Eiffel as if in a trance
mesmerised, enchanted and hopelessly in love with the City of light!
..with a friend, a niece, the spouse ,year after year, this journey do I make..
a ritual in Rue de Bourgogne over a galette and a crepe au citron,
a tagine in a Moroccon I can never forget!
listen in across tables, lip-sync with the locals when they speak and smile at their eccentricities,
crack up when the metro arrives in R(H)ome and Mir(h)omil..
and always say the H out loud when taking a Sor(h)tie!!!(ALWAYS)
be fascinated by the priceless expression on a crazy gal's face
as she saw the shimmering lights of the Tour Eiffel for the very first time..
or sometimes take a solitary walk along the boulevards
smelling the fleurs in a marche, hoping for a vente in the shops..
peering into the windows of the apartment blocks, wondering what must be going on in their Parisien lives!
Paris - I am not done with yet, for there is lots more left to see,
the catacombs, the museums and the cathedrals that beckon me.
where looking over from the hills of the Sacre Couer, I feel free..
where every thought feels like a poem on a rhyming spree..
a city whose light shines even on the other side of the sea
bleeds today like a wounded prey on flee..
Here I seek yet once more, a rendevous with this place..
Time and again a journey, I promise to undertake,
fearlessly and with pride in my heart ablaze,
I shall seek out the next cafe for a piece of rich chocolate cake..
-r
