March To the Scaffold

 Day 17



he tiptoed a staccato gavotte
on her heart to the plink of a harpsichord
declaring love appassionata con brio

she glowed like a dolce pink crystal
a minuet through stars with grace notes
until the hunter poco a poco
changed to a sombre minor key
with thunderous sforzando chords
withholding all his neapolitan 2nds
and french sixths

ding dong sang the sad bells
valse triste

the snare drum played a roll
her march to the scaffold
was imminent

luckily on the way
she was saved from the blade
in the nick of time by
the sorceror's apprentice

meanwhile the hunter
having spent a night on bald mountain
unwittingly pizzicato'd himself
and became trapped in
rachmaninov's funeral prelude

you know the long lento largo
dirge
where the soul is knocking on the lid
inside the coffin

she did not shed a single tear

 Day 18

Sounds Of Home


she
was the sound of our home
the quintessential french woman
rolling her eyes
ooing and ahhing
qu'est -  ce que tu fait
mais Noooooooooon !
as i committed
one of the cardinal sins
curdling the mayonnaise
or leaving stalks on the parsley

life with her
was
a summery operetta
she was the star
the diva
she created the magic

we all adored her
and as i get older
i miss her
more
and
more

 Day 19

How To Capture A Mermaid
 
mermaids
are usually timid creatures
wary of men
how to catch a mermaid?
use Georges Correface as bait



stick him in a boat with a net
whispering encouraging sweet little lies en francais
to entice the mermaid

she will almost certainly jump straight into the boat
Georges will find himself fighting her off with the net
or then again perhaps not