Night on The Seine
1939
Silver and gold from city lights
daub the black river
like brush strokes from VanGogh.
The Seine
murmurs against La Rive Gauche
where dreams of artists linger,
then turns to glide obediently against La Rive Droite
where politicians drink cognac
and talk of war.
We are in the middle of Time
in a small boat.
“You cannot leave me!” she commands.
“Of course not,” is my assurance.
“I shall neither be called nor needed."
"We have built the great Maginot Line,
and The Ardennes is too wooded to cross.
It is all talk, anyway."
The city drifts slowly by -
Le Grand Palias and Le Concorde
Champs Elysees,Notre Dame,
Swifter now - like the time,
"It would be madness to destroy such beauty."
“Besides, the British have pledged to come.”
Categories:
ardennes, anxiety,
Form: Free verse
They held the field, men side by side,
Their will intact, their fears subside.
They mustered in so many fields,
And held the ground, refused to yield.
At Lexington went toe to toe,
With British troops, a worthy foe.
McHenry saw our banner fly,
Against a burning brightened sky.
At Antietam, when thousands died,
They calmed themselves, fought on with pride.
On the Eastern front fought hard and well,
To rid the world of immoral hell.
The Ardennes saw fight most severe,
The troops fought, fought through their fear.
The Pacific saw men die galore,
To turn the tide at Corregidor.
At Heartbreak ridge fought through the night,
With Stand or Die their mantras might.
Khe Sahn saw men fall in droves,
When overwhelmed by local foes.
Fallujah helped the world to see,
The need to fight insurgency.
Khandahar pit the American,
Against the dreaded Taliban.
Our troops maintained, our troops prevailed,
Against each foe our troops assailed.
And though they fought with honor deep,
The fight they fought for peace to keep.
Categories:
ardennes, patriotic,
Form: Rhyme
Jasmine breezes o'er fields of white
Sounds of robins in the early sunlight
Dew drops glisten under skies of blue
I gaze out my window and think of you
I wonder are you there thinking of me
while gazing at the beauty of your olive tree
are you walking in the presidential gardens
or maybe planning a trip to see the Ardennes
Every day, I think of you and wonder
If you saw me ......
Would you run into my arms?
Would you fall for my charms?
Would you kiss me all day?
By the sea would we lay?
When I think of you I wonder
how soft is your touch?
do you love me as much?
Is your smile for me?
Will your heart set us free?
Every day, I wonder
what it would feel like
just to be with you
Categories:
ardennes, love,
Form: Free verse
Reflected
sunset;
Pink cotton
candy under
Full moon,
azure sky.
In Spring 1981 I was
living in
Charleville-Meziers
in the Ardennes
department of
France. I looked
out my window one
late afternoon, and
saw the sunset
colors projected on
clouds over the
opposite horizon,
above the village
houses and forests
on the mountain
slopes. Stepping
out onto the
balcony, I could see
the sky progress
from light blue to a
deep azure, with a
full moon above them
all. The beauty was
stunning; I couldn't
take pictures fast
enough.
Categories:
ardennes, beauty, color, mountains, sky,
Form: Haiku
I think that what happened was that we all wanted to be Oedipus and possess our mothers.
But because society frowns on such couplings,
we actually sought to BECOME our mothers.
Since only a woman can make a life,
and because our sex is opposite and we lived in a world of men,
in order to be the equal of a woman we had to take life,
And the more the better.
That cycle continued for many generations,
but in the past hundred years I think it has reached its peak at
The Ardennes
Warsaw
Hiroshima
The 38th parallel
Indochina
Haiti
Tiananmen Square
Bosnia
Iraq
At least the gross is up.
Categories:
ardennes, historywoman,
Form: Free verse