Sleeping on the Ceiling
It is so peaceful on the ceiling!
It is the Place de la Concorde.
The little crystal chandelier
is off, the fountain is in the dark.
Not a soul is in the park.
Below, where the wallpaper is peeling
The Jardin des Plantes has locked its gates.
Those photographs are animals.
The mighty flowers and foliage rustle;
Under the leaves the insects tunnel.
We must go under the wallpaper
to meet the insect-gladiator
to battle with a net and trident,
and leave the fountain and the square.
But oh, that we could sleep up there...
-Elizabeth Bishop, 1946
Posted by B T at February 06, 2002 11:40 PM