“An Evening at Moulin Rouge” by EMONA Art
I may be alone
red faux windmill fame
does nothing for me
does not titillate
thrill or excite me
except to arouse
my sorrow and shame
seedy surfaces
soil white shadows
of Sacré Cœur domes
hucksters hawk
after hypocrites
trolling iniquity
worn weary girls
shiver naked in heels
dancing decadent duty
in windows on loan to
itinerant pimps
tawdry clubs cloyed
with burned Galousies
and watery whiskey
exhale pungent perfumes
that cheapen the night
what dirges these
Belle Époque
cobbles and curbs
could re-sing of their
cultural wreckage
ideals of enlightenment
ruined, unwrought
by the raunchy and rancid
and oh so sad
deep carnal foibles of
weak-minded men
(originally posted April 2013)
Poesy plus Polemics 
Wow. Well done.
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Much appreciated, Jaels.
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Oh, you definitely went to a different part of France–part of that mer dangereuse I touched on, I think. Love this.
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France has so much to offer.
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I remember being so disappointed when I first visited Paris. The Pigalle was like a red light district on steroids.
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C’est bien, very well written and I share your sentiments. Sadly seems every city I’ve been to has its version of Pigalle.
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Merci beaucoup. I agree. All cities suffer that way. But this remembers when I first visited Paris 30 years ago how disappointed I was because everything else was so glorious.
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Reblogged this on Poesy plus Polemics.
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Character of a place is more by it’s use than its physical importance.
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very true
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🙂
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This piece still Wow’s–“trolling iniquity” is brilliant. The weight of sorrow resulting from “deep carnal foibles of weak minded men”…you’ve written it powerfully.
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it left quite an impression upon me
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Indeed. Could I ask a question off-topic–is it normal for the computer to slow down when I use all this vision enhancing magnification?
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I haven’t noticed that – but I know nothing about these things
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Thanks, could be a fluke…
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I (or rather the writer who owns my pseudonym) have lived in Paris, and indeed La Pigalle is overrated and a seedy tourist spot as your verse implies. One can have ‘adventures’ in Paris without needing to re-enact scenes from Toulouse-Lautrec images. As for La Belle Epoque, it wasn’t so ‘belle’ for 95 to 99 per cent of the populace!
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I appreciate your perspective
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It is good to know that there are men not weak in constitution and not pathetic. Thank you for sharing a poem that might resurrect some hope Paul Lenzi
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I know many such men
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