"See Paris First"

I got this from Sandy Robbins, who I saw perform the poem in May 2006, and it is written by the poet Marsha Truman Cooper. First published in River City, and then in "Substantial Holdings" (1987, 2002)

FEARING PARIS

Suppose that what you fear

could be trapped,

and held in Paris.

Then you would have

the courage to go

everywhere in the world.

All the directions of the compass

open to you,

except the degrees east or west

of true north

that lead to Paris.

Still, you wouldn’t dare

put your toes

smack dab on the city line.

You’re not really willing

to stand on a mountainside

miles away,

and watch the Paris lights

come up at night.

Just to be on the safe side,

you decide to stay completely

out of France.

But then danger

seems too close

even to those boundaries,

and you feel the timid part of you

covering the whole globe again.

You need the kind of friend

who learns your secret and says,

“See Paris first.”