​FROM THE V&B TIME CAPSULE​ -
       POETRY  -  A SELECTION FROM ISSUE 1 - FALL 2015

"Living in luxury with my very own Paris in a bottle."

                                       Photo by Weebly.com                                    

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Evening in Paris/Home in LA
by Mary Heldman

​A long time ago: “Evening in Paris,”
The perfume in the fancy blue bottle
On top of the bathroom counter in our house in LA
You used it in little economical dabs
If you and Dad went somewhere dressy.
 
After my bath, I’d gently, reverently, nudge the stopper from the bottle
And inhale . . . I thought . . . the elegance of Paris,
And pretend I was all grown up and
Living in luxury with my very own Paris in a bottle.
The doldrums of midtown LA long gone.

Maybe the label said “Soir de Paris,” but I think you called it “Evening in Paris.”
You were never pretentious,
And besides, you didn’t know French.

The ubiquitous Web informs:
“Evening in Paris” was discontinued in 1969,
 but re-launched in 1992 after being re-orchestrated.

For sure you’d have laughed:
What does that even mean, to re-orchestrate a perfume?
Pretentious, like the deconstructed and drizzle-infused, bloated vapor
Served to foodies.

And what’s more . . .
Now, all these years later, I learn that “Paris” was sold at Woolworths!
Yes, that revered, fragrant, curvaceous, cobalt-blue bottle
Gracing our bathroom counter
Sold at a dime store,
Long ago, in LA

But long before I could tell you my discovery,
You got sick and died.
Long ago, in LA

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​​Mary Heldman is retired from a career in medical school administration, computer programming, and business systems analysis. She grew up in Los Angeles, but lived in Palo Alto, Washington D.C., Cambridge, and Stony Brook, N.Y., before settling in San Francisco in 1974. She tutors at a local high school, studies piano, and designs costume jewelry. From time to time she writes sardonic prose for her friends. Mary wishes she lived with a chocolate lab or a golden retriever, but she doesn’t.

Editor's Note:  Mary was in the group of OLLI members who started Vistas & Byways in the Fall of 2015. She has served in various roles on our team since then. Thank you, Mary, for your help!

Other works in this issue:
Poetry
​Ode to Opposable Thumbs

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