I'm in a Paris State of Mind

A girl can dream ...

(photo from http://www.au-lapin-agile.com/)

Wouldn't it be grand to rent a flat in Paris for a week?  In my case the family comes with me, but I could sneak off to a bench - daydream with blank journal in hand. 

I've been to Paris three times.  Each trip had a different purpose or theme.  On one of our trips, my husband and I sought to visit every major gallery we could.  My favorite resting place was Rodin's sculpture gallery.  To be outside, walking through sculpted limbs and curves was heaven. 

Now that we have children, traveling is a bit more complicated, but not impossible.  We've been to Manchester and The Lake District in England twice with our sons, and they had a great time.  Well ... except for the double ear infection and stomach flu on the first trip.  My memory is blissfully fading on that one.

Paris - we could do Paris, right?  We'll see ...

Until we book those tickets to Paris in spring, I'll continue to dream, write poetry and pine away for the streets of Paris.  Le Lapin Agile has a glass of wine with my name on it.  Maybe Picasso or Modigliani will be waiting there for me ...

Paris is My Lover

You are my Edith Piaf song –

slow and sweet.

Your curves like crescent moons sleeping.

I want to touch the River Seine

on the other side –

slick, like oil.

Taking flight,

your lodgers argue over scattered cracks

along the brick path,

imagining crumbs where only shadows of footsteps remain.

You take my hand

and lead me into the rose colored evening,

as if the day is chasing us away.

We are refugees.

I have no home,

but you – Paris

are my resting place,

my soft furnishings.

We nest together.

You flap your wings

in regal display –

a proud showing off of your pavement and edifices.

Even the grayest day

can leave me breathless

for your unselfconscious touch of café life –

an atmosphere of conversation and smoke.

Cristina M. R. Norcross

Copyright 2007

Previously published in Unsung Love Songs (2010)

www.firkinfiction.com 

Usually people prepare for winter in fall, or get ready for the new school year by settling in. As an artist, I am always traveling. My writing takes me on journeys to distant lands, so it's no surprise that I like to travel in my real life too. I've been to Paris three times and fell in love on each trip with the streets, the artwork, the relaxed cafe society. Where is Paris in this photo? Well, it is a state of mind for now, until I can book my next ticket. I wanted to capture that feeling of restlessness that the writer, artist or anyone might feel. The field is where we are. The gypsy spirit is in all of us who long to wander and explore the world. In my former life as a performer, I played the role of Gypsy on stage. It is in my blood to roam. Paris is calling. Who or what is calling you? London? Rome? Barbados? What are you waiting for? ~C. Norcross

Feel free to follow this link to "A Gypsy in the Field" on my Fine Art America page. There may be some other poetry/photography designs that you like as well. http://fineartamerica.com/featured/a-gypsy-in-the-field-cristina-norcross.html

A Gypsy in the Field

Farther afield

you are searching.

Following flight,

following urgency,

following the flow of days

as they burn in the crimson sun

and fall off chairs in the dark.

You jump through

the only open window,

because this is how we leave –

with a gust of wind

and the scent of grass

on our breath.

The corn still grows,

the sky keeps leaning

toward a deepening blue,

but you don’t have to be here.

Paris is calling.

Cristina M. R. Norcross

Copyright 2012