Paris Redivivus
Your breath beside me.
Willows beneath my boughs.
Last night you cast love’s imposters out the door.
Supine in your divinity, my thoughts tremble.
Drunk in memories.
I’m twenty-three in Paris. And all I want in this crazy spinning orb is
One more moment,
In Montparnasse,
Fingers intertwined beneath the pearl-laced tablecloth of that modest cafe,
Overpriced wine
Nothing
Without you.
I’ve come full circle this morning-
Pale sun once more
Revealing wonders of your
Womanhood. I have to do little but trace the outline of your
Aqua-line nose, past the
Cleft and borrow of your chin and explore the universe in your
Eyes to see-
Just down that gentle curve of Rue Dauphine the
Lady, in
Electric violet, framing the balcony beside us.
Chanting Ovidian verses, she
Gestures,
Deftly, towards the
Seine.
Because you haven’t really breathed-
Haven’t really kissed-
Haven’t really loved
Truly
Until you’ve knelt as
One
Beside the
Glimmering votives of
Notre Dame.
Jeff Troyer 2019
Copyright © Jeff Troyer | Year Posted 2020
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