Not much is known about MARCUS BALES except he lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and his work has not appeared in Poetry or The New Yorker. His latest book is 51 Poems; reviews and information at http://tinyurl.com/jo8ek3r
Paris and Helen
Perhaps the April sun shone every day
And I do not remember. Did the rain
Exclude us from our choice out-door café
While through the glass we watched it spot the Seine?
We lived in bed, and ordered in. The staff
Would chase us out to change the sheets and air
The room, and chide us with a knowing laugh
To see some of the city while we’re there.
Since we were born to work and serve, not rule
A Mycenaean city-state, we had
To leave at last to travel back to school,
And stop the pale pretence that we were mad
And bad. She married some old wealthy plod.
I get a smile and a recherché nod.
Not much is known about MARCUS BALES, except he lives and works in Cleveland, Ohio, USA, and his work has not appeared in Poetry or The New Yorker. His latest book is 51 Poems; reviews and information at http://tinyurl.com/jo8ek3r
A very memorable poem.
Beautifully done.
Nicholas Vander Poele: a name to conjure with.