Elodie laughs again
passes her cigarette
of course I'll take a drag, never one to ruin the moment
with honesty
"so what else do you know?"
she says
and wraps the sheet around her chest
"what else...what else...I know De Gaulle would have you hanged for this"
I reply and smile
she shrieks like a little girl, slaps me mockingly in the face,
le rosbif!
le rosbif

when Elodie leaves you come back down
you come back down and you have to get out of the house
go seek out a pub
find your friends
and forget about everything she did and said
it's the only way to keep it together
to stay sane
otherwise you'd think you were dreaming

Elodie doesn't have a telephone
but she always seems to answer your call
she can't possibly be real, you think,
and you'd believe it if it weren't for the cigarettes in the ash tray
and the bottle on the balcony
and the fact that she made you take her picture
and left it on your bathroom wall
what a fuck
what a thing it is sometimes
to live