Friday, February 14, 2014

VALENTINE TO MYSELF

I'm getting old
I wear the bottom of my trousers rolled
Inside my boots when it rains
Like it's been raining every day
More than it's ever rained they say
But anyway
In the mirror
I can still smile
My yellow-toothed smile
Not all of them mine I confess
As you've no doubt already guessed
But anyway
Blanche, my beautiful Mama
Before she died thirteen years ago next summer
Told me that I was
Une adorable créature


Mama can't be wrong
That's why I sing this song
Une adorable créature I am
And will forever remain.


P.S. I forgot to say thanks to TS Eliot for my opening line.  See the last verse of The Love Song of J.Alfred Prufrock if  you don't already know it.

16 comments:

Roderick Robinson said...

Plus one from your mum. That makes two. But who's counting?

Rain Trueax said...

Nice to feel that way. Cute pictures. :)

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Robbie, merci beaucoup mon ami.
Did you notice how I rhymed mama and summer (summa)?

Rain, your pseudoname suits the current weather perfectly. Have a happy Valentine's day.

Steve said...

Saw the link at Oddball's blog. Love your post. Quite entertaining. Thanks.

Tom said...

Happy anniversary dear Natalie. xx

Tom said...

Perhaps I should correct that to, 'Happy St. Valentine's Day'. mwah! mwah!

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Steve, welcome. Glad that Bruce sent you here, sit down and have a cup of virtual coffee with me, or virtual beer if you prefer.

Tom, and a Valentine mwah mwah to you too.

Catalyst said...

Mama is always right.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Bruce, for this, a late Valentine to you from me: have another slice of that coconut 'pie', if there's any left by now.

Dominic Rivron said...

Absolutely. You set a good example of how we should all feel about ourselves.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Adorable, right? Thanks Dominic.

Allan Lloyd said...

Um. I’m certainly not doubting your Mama or her compliment, but surely that should be expressed as “une créature adorable’?

And of course, I’m just being un vieil homme pédant.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Non, mon vieux, you are not un vieux pédant, but my mama was right, there's blues in the night, and une adorable créature is perfectly legit. She was a Parisian, comme moi originally, and we can play around with the lingo.
Thank you for the compliment anyway.

Allan Lloyd said...

Pardonnez-moi. Je suis désolé pour mon arrogance stupide et naïf.

Allan Lloyd said...

And there’s the problem in a nutshell, Natalie. Everything principle we tragic students of French learn turns out to have what the books call ‘exceptions’, or we eventually discover from real French people that it’s not really said that way.

Natalie d'Arbeloff said...

Tu n'est pas arrogant ni stupide, Monsieur Figue Hachée! See, you've graduated to Tu instead of Vous so all is well. I'm a native French speaker but since several other languages were imprinted on my infant and adult brain simultaneously, my written grammar in French leaves much to be desired. I'm glad you've turned up here and hope you'll stay.