NORMANDY, FRANCE
Finding Your Breath by the Sea
There are some things you can only see
with your eyes closed
or when you stare sideways and slightly up, in stillness.
Were it a book, the pages would be blank
until you speak it into existence among friends.
Were it a map, it would be the directions to redemption.
This place by the sea,
North of Blainville-sur-Mer in Normandy is a restaurant
where strong cigarettes and sweet wine
float with expectations and the bouquet of frying potatoes.
Peeling layers of paint frame the entrance.
A faded oval above suggests a once present sign
replaced forever with the glee from within.
Wander through conversations to the rear of the place
to take in a shore of exposed mussels
ready for the cook’s pot and diners’ bellies.
Bus a table and move it closer to the sea, if you choose.
Find the plastic chairs and dig them into the sand.
Glide onto one and sigh.
Divinity is in the breeze,
let it sing in your ears.
This is the place to be.
Not hungry but ready
for Moules and Frites and butter on your shirt.
For time that makes you pause.
For space that feels like music.
For an atmosphere that joins neighbors and
moments that let you breathe.
