The Year Gone By

While I should be composing a post illustrating the new host-family I have recently moved in with, plans for the future as summer rapidly approaches, and the fact that there remains a mere 9 days of my career as a french student, I have instead been struck by the creativity bug!  I promise to do a proper update soon, but in the meantime I`ve been writing poetry!

In the year gone by, I've been to the top of the Eiffel Tower.
I've walked over sands leading to the Mont Saint-Michel
I've even gazed into the eyes of the Mona Lisa, and realized
This is not what living in France is about.
 
Listen:
 
Life in France is driving through the green tides of the countryside
And eating crêpes beside a dark-grey storm of a sea
 
It is asking friends over for just the appetizer
And discerning the importance of petits cafés
 
It is summer nights and live music calling from café doors
And wandering about a town gone dead come Wednesday
 
On Thursday, it is eating galettes at the morning market;
It is discovering always new things of an old town
 
It is passing a hand over a stone wall and thinking of
The number of centuries your fingers have just felt
 
Our river la Rance is more beautiful than the Mona Lisa
I prefer the castle on the corner to Mont Saint-Michel
And our little church inspires me more than the Eiffel Tower
Because this is what living in France is about.
 
Listen:
 
It is knowing it's everyday beauty
the slightest details that are what makes it great
 
Mostly, it is the sound made by sneaker soles on cobblestones
And the scent of fresh bread on the air