Paris- Gay No More

Last night as we slept snug in bed,
In Paris there rolled many a head.
Once again, the innocents are dead...
Blasts, not cheers, greeted the goal in football,
Bullets, not applause, ripped through the concert hall.
There were bombs and gun fire,
There is angst, there is ire.

Once again, a city came under siege,
Again, a country was brought down to its knees.
The blood drenched sites have bouquets blooming,
The agonising areas have candles burning,
The television visuals have left many a stomach churning.
The French Flag at half mast is unfurling.
L'Arc De Triomphe is bowed down in sorrow,
For many in Paris there is no tomorrow.

Mickey and Minnie in France's Disneyland squeal no more,
There is an unheard of lock on Cinderella's castle door...
No children can enter for Snow White to greet,
No tourists can under Tour D' Eiffel meet...
But humanity, as usual, stands strong and tall,
As all emergency personnel urgently respond to the call.
Family, leave, sleep, forgetting all,
They report for duties, big and small.

The common man has joined ' Ouvre La Porte',
Paris has shown her people are her forte.
People have thrown open their doors,
There are strangers sleeping on their floors.
The Mumbai and the Nairobi attacks come to mind,
Where people helped each other in cash or kind.
I long for those long gone days when my knowledge of Paris,
Came through the wonderful book 'Flowers for Mrs. Harris'.