je suis francophile

i want a croissant

biftek poulet alain bashung

i want a new language

a post cinema verité

an avant garde nouvel roman

i want a song about lyon

or strasbourg or toulouse

i want to be pédé in gay paris

or bi- in bretagne

I want to sit in an old theatre

and drink in bérénice

then go home and 

write poetry à la ferré

i want to be risqué

i want to be un grand

i want an old barn for maison

and a terrace sur la seine

i want to take a train to cannes

and try this poem over again

i want to say "je vous aime"

like a true patriot

for once in my life

i want to say "vive la france"

without the guilt

and throw off the shackles

i've felt since i was twelve

this American nightmare

adieu vietnam

bienvenue afghanistan

an endless maladie

tying me to a couch

with pills and pain

year after year after foutu year

my heart bursting with desire

my soul longing to speak

but the words are always foreign

always à la française

so no one gets the poems

even if my accent is good

6 avril 2008