after ireland, scotland, and lake district
paris then london i did greet
first time paris alone to roam
romped from montmartre home

pixel glee
for ramrom raps me

it’s nice
to expect musical spice
as spring dies
to make way for summer solstice dice

france celebrates with a fête
with music events, all you can get
though at mercy of organizers
and if sunshine arises

too bad, so sad
such in america not to be had
we’ve lost our compass
we’ve lost the joie de vivre
we’ve lost the music, we only blame and curse
our purse is empty, where’s the beef?

we need to get back our whiff…

“Music hath charms to soothe a savage breast, to soften rocks, or bend a knotted oak.” William Congreve

dix mots, dis-mois
“il faut à paris foire
une fois,
pour gras foie”

theme of this year’s foire
“y’a d’la joie”
ça, je bois

feeling like a prodigal son as we head back to our other home
will it embrace us back with compassion after our “splash-glitz-oh-my” roam
inspired by highcalling‘s “verbs that make all the diff”
koine greek splagchnizomaiis is translated as “filled with love and compassion,” a divine whiff
greek noun splagchna (SPLANK-nah), means “internal organs” or “entrails,” a taipan gourmand sniff

with thanksgiving spilling from my guts
living in paris is a gift, not nuts
made possible par grâce â Dieu,
hmm, Dieu may be french since “impossible n’est pas français” vue?

it’s comforting to believe one’s sin debts are no longer due
in return while alive, seek to soak and sprinkle divine Dew

strolling through Marché Richard Lenoir
my lens met his gaze
a canvass of renoir
i identified his daze

daydream is a whiff
a ponder to squander
a parfum de joie  sniff
a move closer to reality wander?

a healthy debate
how to rate
happiness of one’s mate
salary earned to satiate
in order to appreciate

found in bastille square
for me this is couple rare
equals at heart
for richer or poorer, is a good start

taipan’s “castle in the air” found
above market street ground

oh, i could hide
‘neath the wings
of the bluebird
as she sings

there’s 3-mile island and there’s 3 hours walk
yep, yesterday île de la jatte and puteaux to chalk
inspiration from what seurat and monet gawked

the more famous seurat is this sunday scene
and what this monet fetched is indeed obsene

wondering what my pixel art of grand jatte soil will fetch

many more magic moments to catch
more playful joy to attach

the bard has spoken, she’s done
with words of john donne

there’s 12 days of christmas affair and 12 days of birthday flair…

let me take you down, cos’ i’m going to strawberry fields way
on the first of may
when i was small
and christmas trees are tall…

on the first day of birthday, my GNO buddies gave to me
some cupcakes and a candle to blow with glee

on the 5th day, my true love fed me
five golden meals…

foie gras, coppa, zampone, smoked mozarella, and yes lardo kills
such gourmet deals

on the 8th day of anniversaire
had fois gras and magret de canard fare
a fresh prepare
at paris fair
what calories, i don’t care
live dangerously, i dare

on the 12th day of may
the real day is full of play
woke up to champagne breakfast meal
ending with a quack attack of foie gras and magret de canard encore appeal
with mona lisa starring with approving smiling seal
night stroll back via canal st martin was a memorable night light squeal

finally got around to hotel de ville
izis exhibition to view artistic will

a black and white photographer stellar
lens focus on people become wonderful storyteller

y’a d’la joie is a good tenet
sing it, charles trenet

y a d’la joie
bonjour bonjour les hirondelles
y a d’la joie
dans le ciel par dessus le toit
y a d’la joie
et du soleil dans les ruelles
y a d’la joie
partout y a d’la joie

la tour eiffel part en balade
comme une folle elle saute la seine à pieds joints
puis elle dit:”tant pis pour moi
si j’suis malade
j’m’ennuyais toute seule dans mon coin”
y a d’la joie
grace a Dieu  pour la joie

izis le elvis hawaiian wedding moment
i’ve waited for
i can hear my heart singing
bells are ringing

izis le moment
love sweet parisienne aloha
i will love u longer than forever
promise me that u will leave me never

i was blown away by yves saint laurent exhibition
such profound beauty in his designs without inhibition

shot permitted off tv screening

invoking father’s haute couture memories he created for me
not ysl but it was divine to be clothed in his pure inner beauty

i was born the year ysl understudied with dior
he liberated women with his pantaloon collection cure
i loved his “artist” and colorful cultural phases
he clothed paloma picasso, princess of monaco and drew inspiration from various places
spain, morocco, africa, orient, cutting across races

indeed john keats…

a thing of beauty is a joy for ever:
its loveliness increases; it will never
pass into nothingness; but still will keep
a bower quiet for us, and a sleep
full of sweet dreams, and health, and quiet breathing.
therefore, on every morrow, are we wreathing….

good to give chef a break
so dinner at caffe dei cioppi we rake
first course to titillate

buffalo mozzarella salad and lardo di colonnata on polenta to rate

followed by linguine palourdes et papillote of lotte

we have to thank for alot

finish with fromage followed with sbrisolona

an almond crumble with mascarpone and expresso, ooo-la-la

sing it jean claude pascal…

nous les amoureux
le soleil brille pour nous
et l’on dort sur les genoux du Bon Dieu
nous les amoureux
Il nous a donner le droit
au bonheur et la joie d’être deux

years come, years go
forget-us-not the times gold
seeds planted long ago
different paths intersect and unfold

the strands were tied
we laughed, we cried
we ballet-sprang, we sang, we danced
we dared, we cared, we pranced

gardenia and apple class
we ran red house grass
we crooned love blue
sprayed pony-imm-mothers’ glue

years went
moments spent
thank you for spring twenty-ten
let’s never lose our friendship tan

forget-us-not
we’re a good lot

yesterday blue skies beckoned us
a visit to montmartre to celebrate sun burst

from line 8 to line 12
stop at abbesses, climb 
but 7 flights
of stairs of muscle agony hell  
o how clever the french to incent, these pixels sell

les kwans in the dell, hey ho derry o
a groaning pell mell 

finally 7th heaven, but wait  more you said?

thou shalt be rewarded in due time, a heavenly bait awaits

while taipan batted balls at a sports center in 13e
how shall i soak up my time, what to discover and see

a walk down tolbiac captured these sights
fish eyes and infusion delights

came upon rue de patay to celebrate victory of joan of arc at battle of patay
ending up with église notre-dame-de-la-gare, coming from backdoor way
here’s wiki   coming from rue jeanne d’arc entrée

je pense c’est jeanne dans le chapelle 
other gems found     tears well,
an easter reminder  dwell

time2kill time2seal
check out bibliothèque-médiathèque jean-pierre melville
ah, my Creator knows my inner wiring zeal
He led me to more gems, what a deal

soon ed was done
we ventured to palace d’asie for gastronomique fun

c’est vrai
a joie hurray

like many semantics, associations and connotations
depending what’s influencing your perceptions
the mind is often muddled
what’s diff between happiness and joy, many are befuddled

let’s look at similarities first
to satisfy life’s thirst
both elusive it seems
less manufactured seams, more in dreams

here are some views of the diff
happiness and joy defined in a jiff

happiness is dependent upon circumstances
upon people, things, happenings and instances

joy on the other hand
stems from within, no matter what land
it’s not dependent upon people in your life
nor the possessions u accumulate and strive
unpegged at what’s happening in your life’s hive

according to a chinese proverb…
if u want happiness for an hour — take a nap
if u want happiness for a day — go fishing
if u want happiness for a month — get married (huh?)
if u want happiness for a year — inherit a fortune
if u want happiness for a lifetime — help someone else

the apostle paul understood
writing about joy while in prison, chained, alone in foreign city, he brewed this brood
flip to philippians chapter 3, verse 1 to relish, ponder and enjoy
whatever happens, dear brothers and sisters, may the Lord give you joy

joy is contentment at heart
a gift from God that enables believers to find hope and peace—even when life seemingly falls apart

yes, it’s true i find
in the stark realities, one can find joy encounters of a third kind
it’s all attitude at right altitude, in the heart and mind
what u think can land you in a treasure mine or blinding bind

somewhere over the rainbow
this i know

y’a d’la joie is a good tenet
sing it, charles trenet

y a d’la joie
bonjour bonjour les hirondelles
y a d’la joie
dans le ciel par dessus le toit
y a d’la joie
et du soleil dans les ruelles
y a d’la joie
partout y a d’la joie

la tour eiffel part en balade
comme une folle elle saute la seine à pieds joints
puis elle dit:“tant pis pour moi
si j’suis malade
j’m’ennuyais toute seule dans mon coin”
y a d’la joie
le percepteur met sa jaquette
plie boutique et dit d’un air très doux, très doux
“bien l’bonjour, pour aujourd’hui finie la quête
gardez tout, messieurs gardez tout”

here are other wisdom fare…..

according to yutang lin, 1895-1976, chinese writer and philologist
“the secret of contentment is knowing how to enjoy what you have,
and to be able to lose all desire for things beyond your reach”
joseph addison, (1672-1719, british essayist, poet, statesman) echoed same gist
a contented mind is the greatest blessing a man can enjoy in this world beach

a marcus annaeus seneca (bc 3-65 ad, roman philosopher, dramatist, statesman) blare
unhappy is the man, though he rule the world, who doesn’t consider himself supremely blessed-cared

thessalonians 5:16-18 admonishes one to be joyful always; pray continually;
give thanks in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you in Christ Jesus…to live liberally

galatians 5:22-23 has joy as a fruit of the spirit to flare
proverbs 15:23 a man hath joy by the answer of his mouth: and a word spoken in due season, how good is it!, quelle flair

springtime in paris is joy i do declare
defy joy?
i never dare…