Meet me back in Belleville
For a morning rendezvous.
Bid au revoir to Pere Lachaise,
Eye books we cannot buy
Or dresses, not made for every day,
Meandering by canal St. Martin.
Croissants on the Left Bank,
Stroll up Boulevard St. Michel,
Marvel at the Pantheon,
Embrace the warm reverie
Of Luxembourg Gardens, then an hour
Reading Vargas in the sun.
Let us stay a while in the Marais.
Wander slowly with falafel,
Hava Nagila in the park,
Absorb the drama of Picasso,
Till worldly wise accordions
Serenade our way across the Seine.
In the evening dine in St. Sulpice,
Window shopping as we go,
Planning second home apartments
Plotting, for a permanent return,
Then saunter back to Grands Hommes,
The hotel that, for now, is home.
Breakfast, can only be Danton,
Surly waiters shrug off English
As we order in garbled French,
“Coffee, eggs and toast, merci.”
At our window St. Germain rushes by,
Another day in Paris underway.
Steve Bishop
valparaisobooks 