France, Adventure No. 17

[Le Chesnay, France.]

You swear it's not the wine.
"It's just that I feel so alive
just now. This moment."

There's something about this place
that could make a girl cry
And can make you feel incurably studious
at 4 in the afternoon
When the campfire-y smells of
dinners being made
ignite in the air.

Then suddenly the street becomes
a hallowed place:
A church you come to light candles in,
as if small flames licking the dim, incensed air
are the only messages that God understands.

Leaves begin to fall in slow-motion
and you are amazed at the chill in the air
and the quick puffs of breath
that drift from your lips.
Because your heart has not felt warmer
since that one night all those years ago
when you discovered that you weren't infinite.
And that not being infinite
is kind of all right.