The Ruba'Iyat of Creteil Lake - Part Seven

The Ruba’iyat of Créteil Lake – Part Seven The balding weeping willow by the Prefecture Gate’s railings There where on drowsy summer’s day gather swan and goslings To unfurl and let fan the crisp ensconced feathery quills Litter and scum frothing in a creepy morass of leavings Yarrow stalk mats faded leaves sticking to twigs and branches Skewered tins dead fish collapsed beer cans plastic bags bottles Shredded rags browned-off yesteryear’s papers broken toys turds All fizzing curdling in unholy pot au feu stenches There where her knee-cap juts round the firemen’s helicopter pad Along the shin-wobbling cobbled promenade laid rough shod Signs of her sick bowels cling to the nostrils and sticky soles Or is she with baby taken her tummy heavy with pod Had old Khayyam goosed her during abandoned sleep numbness Caring less for her image than her breeding will confess Or did she dream immaculate conception to walk the plank Even before returning cranes cross over to Loch Ness Alas! Deep in her longing quest the lone siluroid dreams More than all the poetasters of Isphahan Khayyam convenes The sun at four burns sickly upon her breast and collar bones Woe to the Damsel in distress the Poet forsakens! © T. Wignesan – Paris, 2013