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How do you govern a country that has two-hundred and forty-six varieties of cheese?
Charles de Gaulle
I remember my days in Lyon
classical ruins on the sheer hillside,
Renaissance routes from street to street,
kaleidoscope colors of the ancient silk trade,
and most of all
farmers markets filled with splendor.
Premium beef, poultry of Bresse,
twenty-two species of potato,
deep-lake fish from the French Alps district,
wine from vineyards terraced in Roman times,
and cheese, beautiful cheese
in shades from cream to amber.
Camembert and brie, munster and chѐvre,
blue-veined cheeses of the central region,
cheese produced by one lone farmer
from a single herd of cows
all with names
that roam freely in the mountains.
From The Port Side of Shadows: Poems of Travel (Finishing Line Press, 2017).
Used here with permission.
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Patricia Williams and her husband live in central Wisconsin amid farm fields and abundant wildlife. She began writing poetry after retiring from 32 years of teaching Art and Design. Poetry, she feels, is painting with words, both using the same design principles. Patricia's work appears in many journals and anthologies, and she is the author of The Port Side of Shadows, a poetry chapbook about her travels, and Midwest Medley: Places & People, Wild Things & Weather, which received an Outstanding Achievement Award from the Wisconsin Library Association.
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Denise:
I'm there in Lyon with you Patricia. Palatable imaginings. Merci Beaucoup!
Posted 04/13/2023 07:22 PM
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Jancan:
This is lovely, very descriptive. As a lover of cheese, I've actually written poems about it! :-)
Posted 04/13/2023 07:07 PM
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Lori Levy:
Beautiful. Makes me want to eat one of those cheeses. I agree with what it says in your bio that poetry is painting with words.
Posted 04/13/2023 02:49 PM
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cork:
I would like the cheese list to mark each that I have tasted. I will Google for the 246 varieties.
Posted 04/13/2023 09:26 AM
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Larry Schug:
Hmmm...The French President is still asking that question, Mr. de Gaulle. I especially like the last verse.
Posted 04/13/2023 09:06 AM
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Joan Luther:
Names that roam freely.wonderful imagery!
Posted 04/13/2023 08:42 AM
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Anastasia:
A delicious and delightful poem! Than you, Patricia!
Posted 04/13/2023 07:19 AM
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