The old Marxist ponders Paris
and Notre Dame is burning.
Hands clasped, beret askew.
The world, as he had hoped,
is changing. But not as he had hoped.

The sky threatens.
The land refuses to give.
Good Friday falls
upon St. Paul’s
And gray is the river’s
countenance. From Pont Marie
he studies, passing Anna
riding in Spain.

The villas of Malaga
their world away
from the heat of the fire.
Two absinthes and she’d
loose her hair. Move like Monet
into twilight w/eyes deeper than
the Costa del Sol. Her breasts just breaking
the surface. Warm Moroccan tea and churros.
Their limbs a unique coupling.

News from the front would filter,
convincing them more
of their need to return.
But not today! Not Tomorrow.
The war is always w/us,
hearing still, her last words.

Mike Jurkovic is president of Calling All Poets, New Paltz and Beacon NY, and the Tuesday night host of Jazz Sanctuary, WOOC 105.3 FM, Troy, NY.  Recent work anthologized in Calling All Poets 20th Anniversary Anthology, (CAPS Press, 2019); Reflecting Pool: Poets & the Creative Process (Codhill Press, 2018);  Like Light: 25 Years of Poetry & Prose (Bright Hill Press, 2018) Features, interviews, and CD reviews appear in All About Jazz, Van Wyck Gazette, and Maverick Chronicles 2018.