You Were Right About Paris

Stephen Nichols

I imagined going to Disneyland,
Vegas and the Grand Canyon
then Route 66 to Chicago
home of the Blues Brothers

Your heart was always set on Paris
seeing the Eiffel Tower
holding hands along
the Champs-Élysées

The Seine is beautiful
in late autumn, the leaves
of the Linden trees along its bank
rust and fall into the water

Sure—there are no stairs in my hotel
but there is Monet in every window
and you can smell the coffee
from the café below

You were right about Paris
You were right about a lot of things
You were wrong about me