The setting is an April's afternoon saunter through the Palais-Royal and Bibiotheque Richelieu in Paris' second arrondissement. Amidst my casual ramblings, a storm arrives punctuated by a dash of thunder. The rhythmic staccato on the historic sloped roofs and skylights invites me indoors into one of the city's prominent shelter arcades. The Galerie Vivienne becomes my refuge. Constructed in 1823, the decorative and elongated shopping gallery features boutiques, bookshops, restaurants and teas rooms.
Sighting a vacant table further down the mosaic tiled passageway, I stake my escape chair and order a steaming cappuccino. The ambiance and calm appears ideal for musing, thought and reflection. I begin to scribble poetic verse into my notebook. Three hours later I return outdoors to a welcoming sunburst.
I vow to return to the Galerie Vivienne. I uphold that pledge throughout the following month. The quiet stimulates my writings and focused perspectives regarding my life and contemporary society.
My familiar themes of desire, intimacy and renewal resonate throughout Galerie Vivienne Poetry. This third edition of poetical works resumes my introspective taut writing style that integrates emotion with reflection regarding paths pursued and forsaken.
Vivid imagery attempts to pierce the complexities of relationships and entanglements leaving sufficient space for ambiguity. My musings are constructed with candor, empathy and my eclectic humor. The resulting discoveries reveal a commonality of shared human expectations, experiences and fragility.
The collective whole resembles an illuminating prism into behavior. More pointedly, the image attempts to make sense of a culture laden with conflicting messages and pronounced but often-flawed moral judgment. The evaluation process often reinforces my own estrangement with contemporary society. The aging process has introduced a fresh perspective towards an unsettling realization. Aging relegates us into an uninvited contributor role observing change from the periphery.
The obstinate wire between conviction and subjectivity becomes a perpetual conflict. Listening to one's inner voice and expressing originality forcefully remains a tenuous process. I'm increasingly more drawn towards a soliloquy whisper than society's distractive and abrasive shouting.
The intention of my Galerie Vivienne collection becomes a search and shifting for intuitive clarity. The objective remains to view and articulate life beyond the increasingly clouded madness and clutter.
