Molly Williams and Joy Williams

I See Paris

“I See Paris”
I See Paris

Inspiration Piece by Joy Williams

Reaction Piece:

Stone

Molly Williams

The city unfurls before my stone-hewn eyes;

one lonely cross stretches spindly arms towards sky.

The air is heavy with anticipation—crackling, buzzing, dry

as if electricity pulses through the city’s ancient veins.

Thin roads twist and slope, draped like skeins

of asphault-colored yarn.  The city yawns and beckons

like an open mouth—its hunger never wanes.

I yearn to leave behind this hushed eternal tomb

and enter the humming electric city, abandon the fog

of ancient rooftops for that strange, shimmering otherworld.

I watch as ant-cars creep past soft-lit alleyways

and ponder the spell of these foggy, pulsing days.

Next to me the ruffled bird, perched upon the rooftop,

unfolds his wings and swallows up the sky.

I stare at his cursèd midnight form as he begins to fly.

I cannot break free from stone’s eternal chains;

here, affixed upon this place of worship, I remain

and watch the city as it wakes and starts to shine.