Nigel Humphreys
La Saône à Lyon
after the flight
and the never mind of barricades
the queues, check-ins and delays
the certain mix-up over tickets
nous anglais fanatiques
in sacred red and white
set our scarves and standard
on the bridge Bonaparte
a template de rigeur for
the here, now, where we are at
spanned definitively on the structure
of what is known for certain:
the winning ways of self
vested against the river's
loose-limbed dying at the bend
where the slopes of Croix-Rousse
a salmagundi of medieval roofs
collapse uphill
cardinal
layer upon layer of red wash
at every plausible angle of spin
who would dare
this staircase to the clouds,
this high presumption,
this symbol of godspeak
which builds our knuckles
into the bridge's stone?
so much easier at the final whistle
to take our banners down
and turn the river off
beneath our feet.
Page(s) 41-42
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