September 5, 2011

A MAN WHO LOVED PUCCI IV



When my friend André was in his early 20's and living in Paris, he fell in love. Madly in love. With his death in 2000, I inherited his writings. In the mix, there are many poems about heartbreak and love. This is poem IV of a series of André's earliest poems I've titled, A Man Who Loved Pucci:

Over There

Over there, three thousand miles away
I find myself looking out windows
Seeing autumn stealing in.
I'm there only a few minutes at a time
But I can see it all, nonetheless.
I can see the cafés putting up their glass panels
I can see the Prix-Unic selling more sweaters
And fewer bathing suits.
I can see the workmen drinking a little more wine
To keep warm.
I can see the church of St. Germain turning greyer
For the nine hundredth time...
Who says you can't be in two places at once?

I am.


by André de Riano

Read Poem I, here.
Read Poem II, here.
Read Poem III, here.
Our friendship.

Images: Collage of scarf/model created from Taschen's PUCCI book • André, private collection

10 comments:

  1. So so lovely and exactly how I know I will feel in the coming weeks!! Although I didn't have much of a summer, I do love fall as well so I'm hoping to have some more time to enjoy this season a little more!!

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  2. A beautiful poem- I sense the longing for moving on and staying in place. It is something we all feel whether it be seasons or life. pgt

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  3. really enjoyed this poem ... perfect for heading into Fall. thanks for that!

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  4. Q! Pgt, and Jg., Thank you all so much for reading. This is a poem I included in André's memorial service program. Pgt, it does include both the longing for moving on and staying in place. I can so relate to that especially this time of year, always Thanks all. ox

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  5. The underlying poem is phenomenally generous and so, therefore, is its conservation and sharing here. Please never doubt what you value in him.

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  6. Hi!
    I have read this a number of times since you posted. I have enjoyed reading this very much. Thank you.
    Warm regards,

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  7. Hi Laurent, Thank you so much for your kindest words and for understanding how important this friendship was to me. I think to say the underlying poem is "generous" shows just how much you understand the poem and even André himself. Thank you so much!

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  8. Hi Philip, I am delighted you have returned to read this poem a number of times and André would be, too. Thank you so much for the shout-out the other day! Your brilliant posts on Facebook are book-worthy! Just amazing... I enjoy every single one. ; )

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  9. What a gift...barb thank you so much for sharing these with us.
    xo Lisa

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  10. Hi Lisa! Of course... I am delighted to share them! I'm currently developing a manuscript of André's early poems. ox

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