Arriving at the Gare du Nord,
I disembark from the train
to a guttural dawn chorus –
I’ve heard that sound before.
The morning platform’s cold,
tinged with piss and alcohol.
As I pass a street café,
a newspaper hawker’s cry
starts up the day
and Gitanes and coffee
grab me in a piquant embrace,
purring in my ear like Grace.
Kim M. Russell, 2018
My response to dVerse Poets Pub Poetics: Grace
Our host today is Paul, who would like us to take a look at the word Grace for our opening Poetics prompt of 2018. He asks what the word Grace conjures up for us; how it manifests in our lives and writing; and how we might weave it into a poem? He has shared two examples: one by Rumi and the other by Walt Whitman.
writing in north norfolk 
This brings me back to my youth interrailing, bot most of all that morning coffee saving me from the piss and alcohol… (I think I arrived from the south to Gare de Lyon when I came)
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I came in from Cologne back in the late seventies when Gare du Nord was quite grim. Haven’t been there since as the last time I travelled to Paris it was by plane..
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Ha… I was there in the end of the eighties and we stayed in a hotel quite close… remember it was a dangerous place then…
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Believe me, the first whiff in gare du nord is still piss and alcohol- things rarely change here! Love the poem
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Thank you! I was watching a TV programme about Montmartre the other day and I had a strong urge to return to Paris – I have an ex-sister-in-law who used to live near Gare du Nord but she moved out to teh suburbs. I also have friends in Massignac I’d love to visit.
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Such a palette you paint with here Kim. Wonderous.
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Thanks Paul! And thanks for the prompt.
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The smell of Gitanes and Gauloises is what I miss most. Nobody smokes them any more.
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Many years ago I had a phase of smoking Gitanes – couldn’t do it now!
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Husband used to smoke them. I could never have stood the smell of the other kind of tobacco.
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Oh I love this, I love the sounds and smells of Paris…haven’t been since 2000…..must go back….We took the school orchestra there to play in the cities parks…they ate le Lapin and I neglected to tell them it wasn’t chicken……XXXXXXX
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Thanks Alison. School orchestras in city parks sound fab – not so sure about the lapin, though! xxx
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I like this – all the smells. I too miss the smells, the hustle even. I haven’t been back to Paris since I married. I too arrived by the Gare du Nord. I remember it as grim, dangerous, smelly and totally marvelous. I love your to the point and beyond poetry.
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Thank you, Toni. I have friends in France who I must visit so I imagine I’ll be going back at least one more time.
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Oh, the Dark Thrills! 😎😎😎🥀🥀🥀
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Thank you, Dorna!
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Wonderful, every line. You took me there.
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Thanks Sherry.
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Love the way you ended it with Miss Jones (my idol!)…..great descriptions- I could smell, first the piss, then the coffee 🙂
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Thank you, Viv! 🙂
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😊
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Oh my God! I can’t reminisce with much of your poem (I can extrapolate a bit, having traveled on Greyhound and Amtrak), but it all came alive with Ms. Jones. Not the grace I expected! Lots of fun, though.
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Thanks Charley!
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I remember years ago, going to Gare du Nord and seeking hot coffee to wake me. Jet lag was fogging my brain.
Love the title here too — excellent description — I never mind the hub but of humanity in crowded places like this — but I can do without the alcohol and piss! 😳
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Thanks Lill. Can’t wait to read about your exciting trip.
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The first time I’ve heard Grace Jones.
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Nice direct imagery! And very clever use of Grace- she’s really inspiring.
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She’s an icon.
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Oh, brilliant imagery! Thank you for this sharp depiction of morning wrapped in nuisance and comfort.
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🙂
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I love this!! I stepped from the train with you. Wonderful poem
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Thank you, Annell!
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What a fantastic descriptive poem!
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Thank you!
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Coffee is grace any tme of day
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Nothing like coffee and a sweet to sooth the busy soul!
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I love this–strong descriptions, lined out perfectly.
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Thank you, Jeff.
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So vivid, Kim. I was right there with you, the scene, smells and sound. Grace Jones video was a nice touch. You”re right, she was an icon..she was ‘out there’ before it was a thing. Nice work!
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Thanks Pat!
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Oh, Kim–I took the Metro at the Gare du Nord daily for 3 months when I studied at Alliance Francais and lived in the 19th Arrondisement. What memories. I can picture and hear exactly of what you speak. Every day I passed this Patisserie with nary a sous in my pocket. Sheer torture. (That was in 1969, my nun days!)
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You never forget those places.
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