December 10, 2004
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Please forgive me for ignoring you and not visiting your sites. my feeble excuse is on The_Clowne_from_Clown site, I see what I can do today before I have to return to bed.
———————————————
La Gioconda
She smiles as she begs,
But do not ever
Take that smile wrong.
Some people see her smile as a smerk,
Others as a hidden bliss,
Some thinks she had just puffed on a reefer
But they are all wrong,
Her smile is one of hopelessness.
She has sold everything but her body
And that is not for sale
Though it’s been taken from her more than once
Against her will.
Once by an arresting policeman.
“People do not come to Paris” someone said
“Just to see you beg.”
But that someone did not offer help.
She was given a flat once,
But it was so lonely for her
She missed the sun on the Seine
The voices in her head.
There was a child once,
Her sister is bringing it up,
She has a photo of it somewhere upon her,
and for a few francs she will show you it.
Then her smile will warm her face
And remind you
That she is a real person
Not just shite on the street.
The other day a man gave her several francs
Felt sorry for her it seems,
She took it to a shop to buy some food
The shop-keeper kept the money
And would not feed her.
That night she went back
And smashed the shop window,
Two days later she was floating on the river
With her throat cut.
Somewhere under the bridges
She still sits there smiling,
It’s just it’s harder to see her
Now that her body has gone.
—
Marie St. Denis
———————————————
Only In Paris.
____________
Red paint on white chalk
in Paris.
Only in Paris
will someone put paint
upon chalk.
I rub my eyes.
I sigh.
Same day every day
to the office.
On the metro
a gypsy woman demands 50 Francs
to help pay for her daughter’s abortion.
“Raped in Iraq” she says,
“by American GI’s”
this is absurd,
but some stupid people believe her.
Off the train
back on the streets
walk to the office
in that special French way.
We help the boredom
of the office
by tricks, banter
and frequent visits
to the coffee-machine.
Then it’s back home.
Telly on,
And bed.
Another wasted day.
And they call this
“The City Of Love”
merdé!
—
Marie St. Denis.
Comments (39)
oh wow…..it’s early in the morning where you’re at. oh i do remember you saying something about my clock thing. good morning to you. good night to me because it’s 3:30 AM here. i’m sleeping now. enough xanga. for now at least. bye!
Good morning, Lord Pineapple! I am most happy to “see” you up and about again. Illness is not a feeble excuse. Your wellness is most important to us all, as far as I’m concerned. I loved your poem “La Gioconda,” and I know tons of French to know you’re referring to the “Mona Lisa.” Are you familiar with the vocalist Annie Lennox? You reminded me of her song “Love Song for a Vampire.” “The loneliness of hopelessness” is one of the lines that speak volumes in that song. I know the translation of “merde,” too. La Ville Lumiere (The City of Lights) and Love appeals to me, but its inhabitants (including Jacque Chirac) are turning me off of the idea that I’ll feel totally welcome should I ever get the chance to visit the country. Thank you, again; from the bottom of my heart.
Goodmorning milord
Good to see you back.
La Gioconda has got to be one poem that struck me as a poem where you describe on how cruel people see a person tainted by her own doings, not because she wants to but she had to as a way to survive and its rather sad too and scary the way she had left her mark. Thats how i see it when i read your poem. Maybe other people have their own different opinions to what your poetry depicts for us readers.
How do you get all these inspirations to pen such beautiful, meaningful poetry ?
RYC: Aye, i was in Dorset back in 2002 where all those seagulls made ear shattering opera
(((hugs))) You do as you need and we will be here.
)
(And my boring blah is nothing to keep up on lol!)
Be well!
Love these poems…..
RYC: I really didn’t know that about copyright laws…I deeply respect the imput from one as gifted as yourself. Thanks for taking the time to let me know! I went and changed it all…this is the Internet after all and I feel funny using my entire name.
These are pretty poems, well… a little bit depressing but so well written
We are having your weather here… rain and fog, for 4 days now. I hate it
Hi! I’ve been sick, too. I thought I was better yesterday and got out and about, only to feel worse last night again. So I’m staying in today! As always, this and your other site are very entertaining. I loved all the stories about the women and your gay friend. Was he real, and did he meet such an end as the poem says? Hugs, Claudia
Both the poems are beautiful but I like La Gioconda better.
only in paris is a great piece ~ jack
absolutely love Only in Paris.
i’m glad it made you happy that i was happy, but you should always want to go on living. because, if you didn’t, that would make me very sad.
everybody loves them some Terry : )
-sarah
The French they are a funny race
They fight with their feet and fuck with thier face
Inspiteful indeed, and doulble the pisser
I now I bid you a dew, deer Lord, as I pine for the apple
Hail Eris!
Ah, the irony of living~caught in the inkwell as you dip your pen~
Magnificent~as ever~an endless stream of Insight and Irony~Truly Brilliant~
I pray you are feeling better, my Poet Lord and Friend~
Peace~
Hope you feel better soon …
The poems are strong today!
well i guess if my poem makes u happy, im glad…although if you think it should be in a childrens book of verse, it would have to be poems to scare the shite out of your little one at bedtime…hee hee…
i guess my spellcheck isn’t working in word, i didnt think it looked right but who am I to question Microsoft :0…..
hope you are back to your old self soon:)
well crap…i forgot the most important thing….both poems are awsome…La Gioconda was my fav…c ya
The worst thing is that everybody victimizes the victims – even banks charge extra fees to those whose accounts are empty…something about human nature – you have captured this in your poem starkly, the shopkeeper keeping the beggar woman’s money, and she can’t win – those who are poor or destitute have no rights at all…their lives are of no value. Sigh, so bleak. xo
i like ‘la giocanda’ a lot…your poem, i mean…i want to see the actual painting in person very much though…everyone always speculates on the subject of the painting, and you have a very interesting view.
)
hope u are feeling better luv….
thr rhymes are always on the tip of my tounge
The first poem was really sad. I read it to my mother over the phone and she thought it was pretty sad as well. But, it is very well written. I like how you clouded the swear word in there. The second poem was pretty good. Keep posting! Sorry I can not devote more attention to it, been going through some rough times.
By all means, “pinch” the upside down tree-hanging idea! Hugs, Claudia
La Gioconda-I am seeing a song here- something along the lines of Elton John’s,
James Taylor’s material. What is with you? I mean is there any persona that you
cannot write and write well? Be healthy Terry.
Wonderful stuff here. I feel it on so many levels and can see it all so clearly. I do believe I will look forward to more of Marie St Denis’ work. Thanks for your visit and your kind words. ~maureen
“Only In Paris”
What an impactful poem.
~lisa
Only in Paris — Powerful stuff.
great pieces…thanks…
Not another personality surely. I cannot read your novel sorry ,it is not my cup of tea. Still good to see you cheerful and writing again. Cheers Marj
Do you publish any of your stuff? I can’t remember if I have already asked you this or not. Excellent…
… the new poem i posted is broken into stanzas … i hope it’s better … as for these pieces … wonderful, as always …
~ the angel
I loved both poems.. I read you more than I comment usually.. great work!
you really have a way of pulling people into the situation….*S*
you really have a way of pulling people into your situations… *S*
you capture what you see very well, we can see it too in the way you rebuild it..
Have a great weekend.
The Seine has got a lot of stories to tell, if the water would speak, but it just goes buy and does not care of human affairs.
The smile of the Gioconda or la Mona Lisa was probaly the smile of the painter, a certain Leonardo, who got paid to paint the painting and he never gave him to the husband who paid for it.
Paris : metro , boulot , dodo ( Metro , work , sleep ) .
About the Joconde she is not always who or where we think .
I learn you are sick Thierry . I wish you a quick recovery .
Michel ( in return on Xanga )
La Giocondo is heart-breaking. It made me positively ache for the poor woman!
Intense stuff. I like Only In Paris a lot. I love the voice in it. You take me away from myself and to another place. That’s a real gift. Thank you.
I like Only In Paris a lot too. You take me to a place far far away from myself. What a gift. Thank you.
whoops. I dunno what happened but you might want to delete one of these. I got a kind of error message and so posted a second time. bah.