This is a work in progress.
I often think of Paris
reflected in the Seine
and I see the color gray.
Clouds and architecture
around boat propellers
in ancient swells
around Javert's bones.
Even the yellow
of the city's infamous lights
has been tainted,
and the grayness risen
from the river
taints the Sphinx's landmarks,
Quasimodo's bells
and even rolls
down the roads into the Hall
of Mirrors in Versailles
where it echoes sadly.