A prolific period —
I discovered tourists
would buy almost any painting
of the Seine —
but she was there,
or at least, her underwear.

I worked for the fashion houses,
for a time, to tempt myself
away from her,
but she was persistent.
She knew at least seven words
which would make me hard.

Don't tempt fate, my boy,
I tell myself —
but my lover,
at least her underwear,
visits me,
as I stand along the Seine.