Mondrian in Paris
He is two people. An observer
wandering Montparnasse
sketching what his eyes see;
a philosopher seeking to fix
the city's underlying rhythm,
its mad-jazz existential being,
the way it is organic, breathes.
The urban thrust of the place –
the human effort birthing
Haussmann's tree-lined boulevards,
Eiffel's tower, the way the Seine
has been contained and tamed –
has leaked into his psyche. He thrills
to the cathedrals, the galleries,
the background grind of traffic,
the huff and snort of trains,
the eddy and flow as tiny cafés fill
then slowly empty round him,
sweet evenings of music and dance.
And most of all the soot-grimed slope
and chaos of mansard, roof, chimney,
gable end, the tall apartment blocks,
the dereliction that leaves dividing walls
hanging in space, their abstract planes
casual metaphors for the city's endless
circling (growth, decay, renewal) writ large.
He lays them down in joyous detail,
notes their colours in small letters.
Page(s) 44
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