#louvre
Some sort of checklist people have,
That may be found in a photograph.
It could be a one way ticket to Budapest,
Or scaling the top of Mount Everest.
Seeing the Eiffel Tower and Mona Lisa,
Or a picture with the leaning tower of Pisa.
Swimming with turtles in the Bahamas,
Or exploring Peru in search of llamas.
Lying on white sandy beaches in Sicily,
There’s nowhere else in the world I’d rather be.
Feb 10, 2025
Feb 10, 2025 at 4:22 PM UTC
The Eiffel Tower stabbed at a midnight
as blue as an old Muddy Waters track.
From a distance, its lace-iron skeleton
looked like a slick and oily spider-web
crowned with a glittering neon diamond.
(My Grandmère's home is across the street from it).
“Do you want to go climb it?” I’d asked Peter (my bf).
“Naah,” he’d replied, “too crowded - what’s next?”
We’ve been tourist-ing all of the big Paris sights.
As we night cruised the Seine, the rivière looked dark
and perilous - a phthalo-green snake slithering north
westerly at six times the speed of the Nile.
We took a guided tour of the Louvre - it’s a crowded
fortress and you can’t see the Mona Lisa up close.
We day-toured the palace at Versailles, with its ghosts
of past grandeurs and revolutionary, royal beheadings.
The Arc de Triomphe is just an unsafe round-about.
As we Uber’d around it, I turned to Peter saying,
“Joke time: What’s more dangerous:
a shark or an American driver in a Paris traffic circle?”
Mar 12, 2024
Mar 12, 2024 at 12:03 PM UTC
our love was dipped in luxury
and you were made of gold
i always liked pretty shiny things
until they got old
golden eyes, 2am nights
made loving you seem worth it
but secrets, lies, and unresolved fights
made loving you a burden
they could have hung us in the louvre
had we stayed in gold forever
but we were only carat plated
and nickel at our center
Aug 9, 2020
Aug 9, 2020 at 3:20 AM UTC
saw the Mona Lisa once - couldn't stop smiling
© 2020 by Mark Toney. All rights reserved.
Mar 1, 2020
Mar 1, 2020 at 12:00 AM UTC
Take my hand
as we walk along the patio
surrounded by clay
and fine china
As we look upon
those who are caged
eternally, timelessly
aging through
unbothered by the
deafening arms
of the clock as they
clap to meet.
Walk with me
through panels and
countless oil paintings
As we listen to the
songs of the violins
that cannot sing anymore,
tip-toeing onto
the sycamore tiles
Funny,
how fleeting
was considered
immortal
and only one
can differentiate
fleeting
from
timeless.
cause
fleeting,
are we
among the immortals;
we are just
passing through.
Dec 3, 2018
Dec 3, 2018 at 8:57 AM UTC
#1 | Heartbreak in Hatfield
You left me hanging like Da Vinci’s paintings on the walls of the Louvre.
But I could never manage to transform my heartbreak into a masterpiece.
I need good wine, good friends and music by Solange, Emeli Sandé and Floetry.
I need to know that love and freedom are in my life even when there’s pain and heartbreak in my eyes.
I took the bus from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to free my mind and get some loving from you.
Let’s listen to our favourite songs while we reminisce about the love and happiness that we’ll never get back.
Happiness is an elusive feeling and I have been numb to it for some time now.
You know how depression, loneliness and heartbreak fit me well like a glove.
It has been a while since I’ve heard from you, too many days since February.
Too many days since I’ve been patiently waiting so I had to give up eventually.
I took the bus from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to see you every Wednesday morning.
Every Wednesday morning, I was mourning the deaths of loved ones by celebrating the gift of life.
Too many days since February, I’ve been waiting for you to come and find me.
No amount of morphine could ever ease my pain, I am just trying to feel and find love again.
I took an Uber from the CBD all the way to Hatfield just to free my mind and get some loving from you.
Let’s listen to our favourite songs while we reminisce about the love and happiness that we’ll never get back.
Jun 13, 2018
Jun 13, 2018 at 7:23 AM UTC
you told me that i belonged in the louvre
me, with my curtain of dark blonde hair that
i was (trying) to grow out to where it was
before i ceremoniously cut it all off
and that statement was followed with
not one
but two heart emojis
after that i trusted you (though i don’t know why)
the way you wormed your way into my head
deserves some sort of award
for months, before i even liked you, i would
dream about you almost every night
and i know that sounds crazy, but it happened
so i said that i liked you (indirectly)
but you told me you loved someone else (directly)
only, you said i belonged in the
i guess i never knew that i was meant to be
by myself there, a mona lisa smile on my face
waiting for you to come take me off the wall
and make me feel worthy again
because i had based all of my self-worth in
how many looks you gave me but you barely
told me the time of day
but i’ll wait
and wait
and wait
(tell when you’re ready for me)
(tell me you love me)
Mar 22, 2018
Mar 22, 2018 at 4:40 PM UTC
From the Eiffel tower
to the french riviera
The louvre where the
Mona Lisa hangs
Time for a ride down
the seine river where
our love drains
Jan 6, 2018
Jan 6, 2018 at 6:52 PM UTC
Fly with me to Paris
and We will climb
the Eiffel Tower
We'll see the Louvre
And walk along
the Avenue des
Champs Elysees
We will walk
alone together
along the great
Seine River
And latch
a lovers lock
upon the bridge
above the water
We can picnic
on the grass
in the grandest
park in Paris
Then embrace
within the shadows
of Notre Dame
Cathedral
Where there
We'll swear
Our love
forever sure
We will seal it
with a kiss
And know We
never missed
The times
and places
that make
A life
worthwhile.
-R.
8.26.17
-LA
Aug 26, 2017
Aug 26, 2017 at 11:22 PM UTC