Above -
This is the third most densely populated city in Europe.
The Haussmann buildings stand close.
Miles - miles - miles and miles.
The high ceiling ground floor “mezzanine” for shops.
“Noble” second floor with balconies and rich window frames.
Third and fourth floors with poor window frames. No balconies.
The Fifth floor is not “noble”.
But, the balcony offers aesthetic balance seen from the street.
Under the mansard roof small attic rooms with dormer windows.
Suitable for storage, and where the servants once slept.
Below -
The river is dark, rude,
and just the tip of Le Dame De Fer.
Bold, bewildering.
People cluster in idle chatter.
A man leans over the succulent soufflé of a new croissant.
A horn BLASTS!
Someone stands casually in the shallows of an open door.
He whispers while the shadows listen.
A child’s bicycle, a plastic cup.
The Thai chef sweats alone at the back of his kitchen.
Funny looking hats tip their brims to a shop window.
A small park, a splintered bench.
One large shade tree.
In the distance people rest their feet
In the feculent waters of a fountain pond.
They live in attic spaces with dormer windows
In places where servants once slept.
Châz
