A Lament from the City of Love

I thought she’d let me down,
But I was mistaken
As I’ve often been before.
At the time is seemed so serious,
So earth-shattering –
In hindsight,
It was such a silly, petty thing.
I thought we’d make up
As good friends do,
As we always did
But Fate decreed
It was not to be.
It had me on my knees,
Regretting each breath I took
Every time I rose to my feet,
The pain of loss sunk me again.
Fate had cast its dye –
Nothing would ever be the same again.
Now I’m sad and down,
An emotional wreck –
An empty shell,
A down-and-out
In the City of Love.

Now she is gone, gone
I’ve lost her, I’ve lost her.
I’ve lost her forever,
I lost her in the beautiful City of Love.

It was always a good friendship
The best
Full of laughter and verve,
We could tell each other everything –
The most intimate or personal of things
And know it would remain a secret forever.
There was an unbreakable bond between us.
We trusted each other,
Our lives were safe in each other’s hands.
We were friends for life.
We could laugh and cry at ourselves
At all the absurdities of life
At our failures and successes
At our dreams and schemes
At the absolute fragility of life.
And how we could laugh,
And crease up in hysterics
Like two kids, having fun.
How we enjoyed the each other’s company
And the pleasure it brought –
The delight of just being together.

Now she is gone, gone
I’ve lost her, I’ve lost her.
I’ve lost her forever,
I lost her in the beautiful City of Love.

When she was down,
I‘d lift her up
When I was in a dark place,
She would lighten my weight.
When she cried,
I’d hold her tight and dry her tears.
When my heart ached,
As it often did,
She knew the cure.
When she needed support,
She could lean on me.
When I needed advice,
She gave it well
When my sorrows came,
She soothed them away
When she needed space,
I knew when to leave
When I needed sanctuary
To her I would go.

Now she is gone, gone
I’ve lost her, I’ve lost her.
I’ve lost her forever,
I lost her in the beautiful City of Love.

She was my cultural guru
Who touched every part of my being?
Who gave richness to my life,
With her informative mind?
And exotic gifts
And treasures of every kind.
She showed me a different kind of beauty
One of eastern promise and delight
Full of exquisite delicacies
And subtleties of the mind
In return,
I’d take on a cultural tour
Through the tangled mind of an Englishman
Lost in his dreams.
She would laugh aloud
At such an absurdity –
How can a country,
That forever speaks in riddles
Have any credible culture,
She would say
And I’d laugh at her impertinence
But admire her all the same.

But now she is gone, gone.
I’ve lost her, I lost her.
I‘ve lost her forever,
I lost her in the beautiful City of Love.

Now, as I walk these well worn streets of Paris
I see her beautiful oval face everywhere
A face I’d cradled many times.
Her dark eyes follow me,
Eyes I would have died for.
I see her walking in the Jarden du Plantes
With her nonchalant air.
I see her in the Jardin du Luxembourg
As the sun glistens through the leaves
Or at Parc Monceau on a soft winter’s day,
Her dark hair blowing in the breeze.
I see her at Gare du Nord catching her train home
Waving me adieu with her joyous air.
I see her everywhere, in every window,
Every door, smiling at me.
When I close my eyes she is there
When I wake her eyes welcome me.
In my dreams she is there
Her musical voice calling me
Whispering the poetry of life
The poetry of love.

But now, she is gone, gone.
I’ve lost her, I’ve lost her.
I‘ve lost her forever,
I lost her in the beautiful City of Love.

As the sun sets
And the city lights sparkle
And the moon
With our dreams drift by
I feel more lost than ever before
More lonely than lonely can be.
In this city of all cities
Where love blooms
Where no man should lose a woman
I lost mine.
Oh, how cruel fate and life can be
To take away my precious dream.
To take away a faithful friend
And leave me an empty shell,
A soulless shadow, forever doomed
To wander the boulevards of despair,
To walk the avenues of sad reflection,
To crawl the rugged rues of regret
In a place of no return.

But now, she is gone, gone.
I’ve lost her, I’ve lost her.
I‘ve lost her forever,
I lost her in the beautiful City of Love.

Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu,
Why should it be
That I must suffer this ignominy
Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu
I’ve lost it all
I’ve lost my way
I’ve lost my soul.
Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu,
Can’t you feel my pain?
Can’t you hear me cry?
Can’t you see my tears?
Mon Dieu, Mon Dieu,
She is gone
Gone forever
I’ve  lost her, I’ve lost her,
Mon Dieu
I’ve lost her forever,
I’ve lost her
I’ve lost her
I lost my dream in your beautiful City of Love.  

Café  Batigonolles rue  des Dames 17éme