bredouille

“ Often the hands will solve a mystery that the intellect has struggled with in vain.”   –  Carl Jung

 

 

“For beautiful eyes, look for the good in others; for beautiful lips, speak only words of kindness; and for poise, walk with the knowledge that you are never alone.”   – Audrey Hepburn

 

“The real voyage of discovery consists not in seeking new landscapes, but in having new eyes.”    –  Marcel Proust

 

*

bredouille

mais oui

my hands empty

on arrival

en France

yet my palms

open as

mon coeur

armed with smiles

eyes wide open

sincère mais espiègle

an invitation to all

magnétique

for some

six ans plus tard

ces mains

mon coeur

seem to overflow

yet yielding to welcome

each new friend

je gagne

perhaps it was the mischief

dans mes yeux?

*

bisous,

léa

gratte – gratte

“Gambling: The sure way of getting nothing for something.”   –  Wilson Mizner

*

gratte – gratte

each morning

Rolande marche au

Tabac

gratte – gratte

gratte – gratte

with the English

half-penny

i gave her

today she has

won 120 euros

then purchased more

scratch cards

from her winnings

i could attempt to

explain the statistical

probabilities

in my broken French

and she would smile

yeux scintillant

“mais oui!”

alors elle

continue

*

Bisous,

Léa

Time

“But what minutes! Count them by sensation, and not by calendars, and each moment is a day.”  – Benjamin Disraeli

“Your time is limited, so don’t waste it living someone else’s life. Don’t be trapped by dogma – which is living with the results of other people’s thinking. Don’t let the noise of other’s opinions drown out your own inner voice. And most important, have the courage to follow your heart and intuition. They somehow already know what you truly want to become. Everything else is secondary.”

–  Steve Jobs

“You must have been warned against letting the golden hours slip by; but some of them are golden only because we let them slip by.”

–  James M. Barrie

***

Time

The eternal stalker

Knows each of us

Intimately

Counts each breath

Every step you take

Is it an abacus

Or a calculator?

He uses to keep

Track

Saluting him with

The Bronx cheer

I burn the candle at

Both ends

Up early to walk

The sacred hills

Late nights counting

Stars

Dancing close to dawn

Whatever time is left

Use it up

Wear it down

Regardless how thin

The fabric becomes

It is rich with the sounds

Of laughter,

Salty with tears and

Friends

***

Bisous,

Léa

La chatte

“Of all God’s creatures, there is only one that cannot be made slave of the lash. That one is the cat. If man could be crossed with the cat it would improve the man, but it would deteriorate the cat.” – Mark Twain

“Way down deep, we’re all motivated by the same urges. Cats have the courage to live by them.” – Jim Davis

“There are two means of refuge from the miseries of life: music and cats.”- Albert Schweitzer

une chatte d’Albas

La chatte

They call her

Feral

Total lack of moralitié

She prowls about

Mon village

Sampling all the treats

On offer

Living by instinct

Reality not judgment

Despite nine lives

She knows how quickly

Today becomes the past

Her time is not to be wasted

Taking her pleasure

As she finds it

Satiated she moves on

In front of the fire

Reminiscent

Her rough tongue

Traces a map of pleasure

Washing, always washing

Body memories – retracing her passion

Spent

She sleeps

Perchance to dream

Bisous,

Léa