On sleepless nights

I stroll the left bank in sequined heels

My Eyelids heavy with smoky glitter

Among the art I find you

Your essence pierces my veins

Settles in the pool of my heart

Dim lights flicker their last warning in

the cafe where like willows we sway

To long forgotten love songs

Then you are gone never hearing  Je t’aime

the only French I know.

Image result for art by Mark Spain

Mark Spain Art

“Je t’aime, Je t’aime  (lyrics by Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin)

“I love you

Like a fool like a soldier

Like a movie star

I love you I love you

Like a wolf like a king

Like a man that I am not

 I love you like that”

141 thoughts on “She Doesn’t Speak French”

  2. Beautiful noir poetry sizzling with passion – the hushed setting, the smoky nighttime atmosphere, the slow dancing after midnight. Gorgeous tribute to the city of love! ❤

    Liked by 4 people

  3. Beautiful!
    Do we ever really know any language other than that of love?
    Quelle tragique, the person who cannot speak.
    Dear Holly, Je t’aime.
    xoxoxoxo

    Love that Serge Gainsbourg and Jane Birkin piece! It was banned, in its day. Quelle tragique!

    Liked by 4 people

  4. You set the scene for your story in verse and it unfolds before the reader’s eyes as they read. The art of visual. The power of words .. you give us all of that in the words that you write .. eloquent elegance.

    Liked by 3 people

      1. Oh! I think you would really like it. It came out in 2010. Eric Elmosnino, who plays Gainsbourg, looks so much like Gainsbourg. It’s amazing.

        Liked by 2 people

  10. I feel,
    this week,
    like I have been sleepless forever –

    in a world
    that has pulled away
    all the wideawake places
    where my spirit used to walk.

    I feel so much more scared
    and so much more lost…

    looking for those places
    where the few songs who see me
    might at least help it dream a little,

    this thing that can’t sleep.

    Liked by 3 people

          1. Always a pleasure, Holly! Hope you had a great weekend?? Hoping your day goes smoothly!
            URW2Sweet! You are all vaccinated now or almost?
            Sending You Big Bear Hugs back with Sunshine and Smiles!
            xoxox
            Chuck
            😊💕💕🌹

            Liked by 1 person

  24. Ah, I love this poem Rene. It’s splendid.

    “the cafe where like willows we sway
    To long forgotten love songs
    Then you are gone never hearing Je t’aime
    the only French I know.”

    I think that’s the only thing you need to know 🙂 🙂 🙂

    Liked by 3 people

      1. My new Mac has a line above the keyboard that suggests words. I don’t like much to have a machine dictating what I write. But the process is interesting. 🧐 (that is the emoji that came out after I typed ‘interesting’) If I type ❄️ (a snow flake substitutes the word s.n.o.w) So the computer “understands” what I’m typing. Scary. That was only in English so far, but when I typed ‘au revoir’ that waving hand appeared… Weird.

        Liked by 1 person

  34. Pingback: She Doesn’t Speak French – Rangkhil Marak

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