In
summer many of the characters I employ
Lie
low, so I make do with whoever shows up.
Distressingly,
many of them speak only French.
They
assume I can, since I took it in school
For
seven years. Alas, the first year was spent ---
If I
recall rightly – memorizing a brief monologue
By
someone –old and perhaps deranged – toiling up stairs.
It
went: Premiere etage! Deuxieme etage! Troisieme etage!
Quatrieme
etage! C’est haut! I suppose I could make
Louis
XIV run up and down the stairs of a brownstone
But it
seems wrong to ask this of so kingly a man
Whose
high heels, in any event, would make it hard.
Six
more years left me a meager heritage.
I can seek
help in two ways: Aidez-moi! Au secors!
But if
it’s offered I’ll have to quickly change topics
Demanding
an umbrella (Donnez-moi ta parapluie!)
Or humbly
seeking cherry tobacco (Pardonez-moi, Monsieur;
Avez-vous
tabac avec l’air de cerise?) If my characters
Have
neither umbrellas nor cherry tobacco I can
Express
sympathy. Quel dommage! Quel horrible!
Ah,
tres triste – je suis desole!” Wait, though;
I have
wronged myself. It seems I can also
Ask
for a pen from someone named Pierrot
By
moonlight in order to write a word.
(Au
claire de la lune, mon ami Pierrot,
Pretez-moi
ta plume, pour ecrire une mot.)
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