Wednesday, September 26, 2012

Daily Life with Poetry


This photo was taken on a Metro train somewhere beneath Paris. I took it because in the front of the car on the right hand side we had a standard subway advertisement. However on the left hand side we see a white panel with a blue field. Sadly my phone did not have to resolution to capture the words, which were a poem describing a person's need for poetry like a daily vitamin.


Here is another poem, this time on the platform. I took this photo for Eric, but it illustrates my point here today.


Je suis un enfant de partout
un enfant de Paris, de Cotonou,
un enfant des montagnes
des plis rouges d’un pagne.
Je suis un enfant des nids de moineaux,
de Mulhouse, de Baltimore,
des petits bateaux de la baie de Rio
et pire encore
je suis un enfant de quelque part
né de l’amour entre la chance
et le hasard.
Un enfant avec un nom,
un prénom,
mais un enfant qu’on appelle Terrien
parce que, sans moi,
cette planète n’est rien.


I have different photos to show the incredible flowers in public places, but I think these things - public poetry, flowered towns - are the real genius of French urban dwelling. We have good baguettes in America now, but we haven't yet made as much of an effort to add art in our lives. I wish we'd do more of it.

2 comments:

  1. Well, of *course* I like this!

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  2. How pleasant, here in the states we only have tons of advertising! Would you please translate the poem?!

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