Doucer
“Celui qui n’a pas vécu au dix-huitième siècle avant la
Révolution ne connaît pas la douceur de vivre”:
(“Those who haven’t lived in the eighteenth century
before the Revolution do not know the sweetness of living”)
Belle France has manna sweetness all summed up
In French mille-feuilles. An angel-fragrance Yule
Combined with Easter in a perfect cup
Of Paschal Egg with ornaments like boule
Is not as everlasting in the mind
As flawless flakes of butter laced in flour
Rolled, rolled and baked and layered, then refined
By beauty with that interleaving power
Of faultlessness, that rich vanilla cream.
So Talleyrand was wrong. We have the douce
Life every time we have that joie extreme
Of eating a mille-feuille. Imbibe the sluice
Of all that is parfait in French cuisine—
Those utter flakes with sweet creme in between.