Into The City Of Light. Poem by Michael Walker

I went on a three-week camping tour, with Con-tiki,
starting from London, then around central Europe,
many years ago; we were mostly New Zealanders, Australians,
and Canadians, keen to see Europe and its art attractions.
Heading south, we arrived in Paris in the early evening,
when the lights were coming on in the streets,
giving the city a magical atmosphere for my first sighting.
We soon put up the tents and some went out to a night-club.

The young tour managertook us all the main attractions,
like the Louvre, Notre-Dame, the Centre Pompidou and others.
Who goes to slide evenings these days though?
In one slide I am standing, smiling
near the Arc de Triomphe,thinking of Napoleon
France's superman from 1799-1815, who had the Arc built for
his soldiers` victories over various coalitions.
In the other, I am with others from the tour
at the foot of the Eiffel Tower: we had just taken the lift
to the top to get a panoramic view of Paris in the spring.


- 4 November,2014.