Je n'étais pas au convoi de Victor Noir
no no I came here for Mr Mojo Risin
true to his own spirit
But I counted down the names
grave by grave – person by person
stones decked with flowers
or covered in lipstick kisses
skipped the As
Balzac – Bernhardt – Bizet
Callas – Champollion – Chopin
here a Dabrowski
there a David
Delacroix and on
famous people I had never heard of
en ordre alphabétique
de Nerval – Ney – Piaf
losing my way in the zen of the célèbres
zig-zagging a solo tango
through the necropolis
back-tracking to find the Lizard King
ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ
when I was hit right in the pause button
by a young man in untidy sleep
a carnation or two in his hat
I didn’t know his story
but this I did know –
in death his cock had been rubbed harder
than it ever had been in life
I found out enough later
to wonder who cared
where the nephews of emperors are buried
and to take a taxi
to 59 rue d’Auteuil
simply to spit
on the doorstep
Author notes
More than one hundred thousand Republicans joined Noir's funeral procession. To have been "au convoi de Victor Noir" was an endorsement many electoral candidates were proud to have.
In a list
A contest entry
- Victor Noir by ea.
550 points, ended April 5, 2008, 6 entries
Gold trophy winner
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
1 - 20 of 20
-
I love this poem which I read months ago,
I stumbled upon the Allpoetry site, following doing a Google search for Victor Noir, looking for information on the life of the man, not his tomb's rise to infamy as the source of superstition and urban legend fueled hanky panky. He has become an obsession and source of inspiration for me to say the least. So, I feel like I have to comment and say thanks, you helped me find this site, and ask if you actually did make a trip to Paris and Pere Lachaise, and of all the entries in the contest yours seemed the most empathic and mindful of the humanity in this story.
My favorite part is that last bit. In spirit at least, I've taken that cab ride.
My own writing is almost entirely driven by deeply personal stuff, hence my question.
peace.
-
-
Thank you for your assessment. No, I have not been to Paris; but I'm a writer, and I dig deep too.
-
-
This is a delightful read, and I had to chuckle out loud when reading about the search for Mr. mojo rising!
A wonderful piece of writing, congratulations on your well deserved win!
-
This is a really good poem, I like that you have added the extra information
I looked him up myself and it seems like an odd story... but then truth is often stranger than fiction 
wonderfully done - and I love the feel that the French gives to the piece good luck in the contest!
Keep writing
Polly
-
-
Thanks
-
-
right on
Lots of interesting stuff here and the authors notes is great, well done.
-
-
Thanks for your response - glad you liked it.
-
-
haha its both educational and hilarious..:s although his story is completely weird heh keep up the good writing
-
-
You're right - it is truly weird.
Thanks
-
-
I love your approach, your rhythmic flow, the interwining of French and English gives it such a unique feeling... Too much to detail here. Wonderful write...
Ken
PS And yes, I laughed out loud at your observation:
"in death his cock had been rubbed harder
than it ever had been in life"
Such is the fate of the infamous...
-
Well, I have to laugh, since I really did go to Pere Lachaise in search of Jim Morrison and couldn't find him! This is a very unique take on the prompt - totally unexpected - that it would take a political turn - I think I was expecting something more along the lines of an erotic account, perhaps detailing the mount by the voyeur behind the urn. This is great, though, a trip down the lanes listing some of the deathly famous and a little story about discovery. Powerful, shock ending. Good one!
-
-
I never do what is expected of me! I'm a poet.
I think JM's grave has been vandalised by "fans" so many times, and an effigy of the man himself stolen, that it is now only recognisable by the Greek inscription.
Thank you for the visit and the appreciation. -
-
well, if I'd known it was you, I would not have expected that of you. lol. I do wonder if this is a political poem in the sense of the politics of that day or of your own, though. I guess the later.
Yes, I have seen Morrison's gravestone in the photoblogs where I work - that was how I initially got interested in Pere Lachaise. There are actually not that many celebrities there compared to all the unknowns who are there. I think there are more at Montparnasse. Interesting place, indeed.
Glad you enjoyed the inspiration here and made a little study of it for the sake of the contest.
-
-
-
C'est bien ecrit et educatif. Ne soyez pas offense svp, je ne l'aiment pas.
Love,
Amera
-
I didn’t know his story
but this I did know –
in death his cock had been rubbed harder
than it ever had been in life
hmmm....
If you have good enough reason to show off
then all's well! lol
I love how you
cultured this
how I wish I knew French!! lol
-
-
All true, Adrian. His larger-then-death statue became a kind of fertility symbol for Parisian women. Look the guy up on wikipedia. Totally weird story.
Ok the French:
"Je n’ai pas été au convoi de Victor Noir" - I wasn't in VN's funeral procession.
"en ordre alphabétique" - in alphabetical order.
"célèbres" - the famous
And the Greek:
"ΚΑΤΑ ΤΟΝ ΔΑΙΜΟΝΑ ΕΑΥΤΟΥ" - true to his own spirit
The latter is the inscription on Jim Morrison's grave (Mr Mojo Risin / The Lizard King)
Phew...
Thanks for the visit.
-
-
Interesting, and that's the rub!
-
-
mhm
-
-
OK I can take the French, but including a line in Greek is just showing off!!
What can I say?
Superb as ever.
(But you could include a pronunciation guide, I had to look it up before I could read the poem)
-
-
OK I'm showing off, but don't ask me to do it again.
-
Adding your comment:
1 - 20 of 20
