le marais

where the salads are dressed
to impress
upon a fantasy only real if you write
it yourself.

where the graffiti is kept
on low volume
sing-song
american accents stumbling
on cobblestones like luggage wheels.

where a wineglass full is to be well
bread, warm to the
touch so quick to go stale,
a flat romance - paris -
festering on misunderstanding
how long the wine was
not given care.

where a fat immigrant
is parked outside
a trash can
overflowing
with an awkward obligation to please
won’t you leave a smile
of a euro my wish
-full cup was fished
from the bin.

Street art by Jef Aerosol near the Centre Pompidou in Paris, France.