I remember the marvels of airplanes,

The oceans of the clouds

And the frostwork blooming on the cabin window.

My fingers touched Stonehenge

And the Mother and Child sculpture

In St. Paul's Cathedral.

I remember the billboard that greeted us

When we left the train station,

Bare-backed Laetitia selling swimsuits

For the Galeries Lafayette.

I remember Paris and the smell of sulfur in the air

And the mascarons of the Musée Marmottan

And how that girl smiled as she rode

Her bicycle through the Trianons,

And how the gardens of Giverny were flushed with light.

I remember the sunset on the highways of France

As the girls on the bus

Sang songs of their own creation.

I remember Montmartre

And piles of garbage due to a strike.

I kicked an empty water bottle down the street

As the moon rose over the Sacré-Cœur

And a child cried, "la lune!"