RAIN IN PARIS

A DANISH GIRL AND ENGLISH BOY IN PARIS IN 1973

It rains while we are in Paris
we get drenched

so we walk back
to our hotel
(some dump place
small as a cupboard)
and get out
of our wet clothes

she turns on the radio
(she has to have music
while undressing)
some French dame singing
about whatever French dames
sing about

she says
I'm going to shower
want to come in?

why not
I say

so we shower together
body close to body
body touching body
soaping up
each the other
then showering off

then we get out
and towel ourselves dry

and now some
French guy is singing  

he's singing about love
Sonya says
l'amour est l'amour

as we dry I notice
a tattoo on her upper thigh

not seen that before
I say

seen what?
she says

that tattoo
pointing to her thigh

o Benny
I have had that
for ages
she says

I've not see it before
I say

maybe because it is dark
when we make love
and you are too busy
at the time to study
my tattoo
she says smiling

I get closer
to have a better look
and it says
Du kan kysse hvis du ser
what does it mean?
I ask

it says you can kiss
if you see
or something like that

and can I?

you usually do
in the dark
so why not
in daylight
she says

so I do
and well you know
what happens
one things leads
to one thing
and that leads to another
and so we do

and still the radio
plays music except now
it's playing some aria
from Bizet

and I kiss each area
of skin I can
wet lips on dry skin
until it's wet skin
and wet lips
and wet everything

and still the opera
goes on
and the fat dame
can still sing.