Embrace. Spring is here, Paris. It's hardly April
and I haven't seen you for almost three weeks
now. But the ducks and the Egyptian geese have
been coming to rest on my pier at night. And
the recent agony has completely been erased from
my nights. Almost all my nights. And as the new
season has started on the Thames, so has the
new games. joyful ones, and the new gaze as hopeful
as them. Oh, Paris, amidst all this chaos in
the world, do lovers have a chance but for their
own requiem? The sun still arrives with crispy,
rarely still, air. My chest is less constricted,
my breathing slow and effortlessly controlled:
the heart is engorged. My smile arises from the
engorgement as my mind touches everything that
feels warm, that feels fresh, that feels budding.
In a couple of days, Paris, our body will entwine
once again allowing my soul to expand yet again.
In a couple of days, all the songs you've blessed
me with will find their new meaning as I walk
your grounds with newly inhaled joy and contentment.
Romance is possible once again. If only for a
season. If only for an era. If only for the nights
that put to rest the air of sadness and closes
the gap between my body and my ideas of freedom.
Like our inevitable occasional separation Paris,
our constant entanglement opens for me new paths,
new windows for my mind to gaze through, and
new doors for my heart to walk through. Oh, how
bloody exhilarating! My nonchalantly rebellious
daughter slash bestie is coming with me on free
return Eurostar voucher (perks of being in 'star'
leveln - I meant 'étoile', and stay with us for just
under a week. And this alone brings extra joy
to my reaching for your embrace. There will be
an art exhibition opening to prepare and get
involved in. And there will possibly be an artist
interview to film. There will be suppers among
friends and café rendezvous in between. There
will be conversations my senses are ready to
indulge in immoderately and perhaps a picnic
not far from Pond Neuf. There will be a new layout
and a book cover by my designer to discuss. If
I'm really lucky, there will also be walking
along your river Seine, solemnly, undividedly,
perhaps even on my own, consuming your embrace.
Almost greedily. Almost greedily, Paris. I am
consuming everything that is beautiful and temporary
this morning has to offer for me. Everything
that is music. Everything that is light. Everything
that is warm. Everything that is carnal. And
in the process, I feel your embrace embodied.
Who knew love isn't in anything eternal? Who
knew that as the objects come and pass, love
travels so that it has a chance to evolve? I'm
embracing my evolving love, Paris, for you and
for everything and everyone that come between
us, in spite of us. I'm infusing everything that
belongs within me back from my surroundings,
from everything that touches my skin, from every
scent that comes about my way, from every view
that encounters my eyes, from every sound that
enters my ears. I am with love; therefore, I
am myself. Time to let the guards down, Paris.
It's time to open all the locks and let the river
flows freely along with every boat that has managed
to take their place in the middle. At least for
a while. Amidst the chaos beyond the television
we no longer own, let my thinking halt. If only
for a moment. If only for a gleaming spot. In
the distance between the carnal and the eternal,
let me possess your embrace. Londres, March 29,
1026. Je t 'embrasse.