La puce parisienne

The night they invented champagne¹ they had me in thought,

Imagining youthful follies at all hours of the day and night,

With the sun or moon in our presence,

Sickness so wretched,

After too much of a good thing,

I believed Le Horla² was sharing my glass,

Memories so fond,

Some of the île paresseuse ³

Or of passantes⁴, and tempêtes⁵

And many of love,

Love of friends,

Love of family,

Love of fun,

And Love of life.

Champagne,

More nourishing than pan de vida⁶.

Bottles, corks, glasses, bubbles, grapes, alcohol, fizz.

In the cups of Kings and Queens,

In the bouches⁷ of those who celebrate.

O, Champagne, I need not any event to celebrate.

O, Champagne, inspire me as you do painters, ateliers, and poets.

My muse, as precious as gold, your complexion shimmers ever more heavenly.

You tickly my senses ever so softly.

Champagne aid me in my search for true love,

Be my guide through all paths.

O, Champagne,

Make me giggle,

Make me cry,

Make me love.

1. Reference to a song from 1958 Musical Gigi

2.  Reference to Guy de Maupassant’s  character  from the story “Le Horla”, the character is a haunting spirit

3. Reference to Charles Baudelaire’s poem titled an  “Une île paresseuse”

4. Reference to Charles Baudelaire’s poem titled “A une passante”

5.  Reference to Aimé Césaire’s play  Une Tempête, adapted from The Tempest by William Shakespeare: adaptation pour un théâtre nègre.

6. pan de vida- bread of life in Spanish

7. bouche (s)- mouth in French

Under the Eiffel, Near the Arc, in the herbe of the Champ de Mars

There was the trinity as sacred and sanctimonious as the saints of the roman church yet as playful and silly as Aloysius,

The harmony created by this trinity was more melodious than a tune on Porter’s piano,

More musical than the poetry of Rimbaud,

The times between these three were sweeter then the sugar in champagne, than the tempranillo in the glass, than the laduree macaroons on the tongue,

It should be noted that they discussed everything like a puce jumping from matter to matter,

From men to magic to make up to musicals to morals and so on

The trio was more natural than Audubon yet more up to date than the news fit to print.

These persons would never boast like Claudius yet simply wish for each of them to become the next Magellan of the world

Their adventures each different, would all lead to the same discovery of themselves and of life itself.

They would recognize that the essential ingredient in the recipe is not beauty of Venus, the knowledge of Da Vinci, or the wealth of the Medici’s yet it is the most elusive yet most powerful element:

Love.

Each of the three would learn to pass on the love that they contained in their hearts and in their amity.

Hemingway, Haussmann, and humanity have all built and re-built Paris in their own ways, in their own respect but my Paris is here to stay.

The Judgment of Paris is more than a Greek story or a masterfully constructed painting; rather, you see the judgment of Paris was actually what took place when I entered the city of lights. The Judgment of Paris refers to my judgment.

While in my natural habitat, my homeland, my beloved city I came to believe that God is truly and honestly a merciful God. I believe that to make up for the original sin that he imposed on humanity as a consequence of human actions he created this city and presented it as a gift.

More than the cuisine, couture, or culture, Paris contains that something special in the water that tends to seep and ooze out from every part of the city… from the poubelles to the rain to the people to the atmosphere. Call it what you may, beauty, love etc… all I know is that it is the breath of life, humanity’s soul in all its spirit.

We are so very lucky because its very clear after all, that Paris is here to stay not for a year but for ever and a day.