A Valentine's Day poem especially for you!

Dominique Sampiero, a prize-winning author, screenwriter and poet hard at work on your poem.

It's never easy to know what to get you for Valentine's Day. Chocolate, roses, jewelry or sexy firemen. But since I wanted to give you something truly unique to make up for my lackadaisical blogging habits of late, I asked a poet to write a poem especially for you.

À toi, habitant du monde, 
amoureux des étoiles et de la Tour Eiffel
pour que ton rêve de Café de Flores et des bateaux sur la Seine
scintille entre ces mots comme la lumière des villes. 
Bois un café avec moi, marche dans les rues du Marais, 
l'âme de Paris chuchote entre les pierres pour raconter cette histoire 
d'une ile au milieu des terres. 
Paris

Thanks to the free offer by Galeries Lafayette, lots of people will be able to surprise their sweethearts with tender words this Valentine's Day. I've even got a special poem for Stephane, but I'm not posting that one online. It's a secret.

Happy Valentine's Day, everyone!


To you, inhabitant of the world
Lover of the stars and Eiffel Tower
So that your dream of Cafe de Flores and boats on the Seine
Sparkle between these words like the lights of cities. 
Drink a coffee with me and walk down the streets of the Marais
The soul of Paris whispers between the stones to tell this story of an island in the middle of land.
Paris

Comments

  1. Nice translation too. Bing?

    So, did you go to GL and say, Hi, I'm a blogger and I want to send a valentine to my readers. And this was the resulting poem? If so, BRILLIANT! We played.

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    1. Thanks, Joseph! I'm so pleased that you like the poem! The scenario went exactly as you described except that I also turned many different shades of red and almost changed my mind. As you know, I usually try to keep my blogging habits secret so this felt like a big declaration. As an aside, I didn't get nearly as embarrassed when I asked the other poet to write a poem for Stephane. When she told me that she usually writes erotic poetry, I'm pleased to say that I didn't even bat an eyelash!

      Good thing that I didn't use Bing or Google for the translation because they frequently translate Marais as "the swamp", which is literally correct but would sound a bit strange in the poem! I translated it and then asked Stephane to double check it.


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  2. Well played, I mean.

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    1. You're welcome. I hope that you had a very happy Valentine's Day!

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  4. What an original idea! How long did it take him to come up with this sweet poem? Hope you had a Happy Valentine's Day too!

    Patricia H

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    1. I'm not sure exactly how long it took him to come up with it - maybe 10 to 15 minutes. As with everything, it seemed to take the poet forever to write the poem for the person in front of me but then time flew when it was my turn. In addition to coming up with the words for the poem, we spent lots of time switching from one colored pen to the next! My job was to hand him the pens in rapid succession.

      Thanks for the Valentine's Day wish. I hope that you had a happy one as well!

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    2. Now that's funny, like a nurse in surgery. "Scalpel. Clear"

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  5. I love the poem! Thank you so much!

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  6. What a wonderful idea, dear Mary-Kay!
    Today I post about a little girl, who lived in Paris and her "father". I think, You'll like the video. Have a nice day S.

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    1. Thank you for telling me about your "Madeline" post, Sanne! It was one of my favorite books when I was a child and I really enjoyed learning more about her "father", Ludwig Bemelmans. I hope to go to Bemelmans Bar at The Carlyle when I'm in NYC! And I really enjoyed watching the Madeline video.

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  7. What a special way to celebrate a special day Mary Kay! I am already thinking of other times when giving a poem to someone special would be more than just a little memorable.

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    1. I'm sure that anyone who receives a poem (will you write it yourself?) from you will feel very special indeed, Baron! In the age of email and text messages, it's always a treat whenever I receive something on paper! Perhaps it's because paper feels timeless, even though it's not.

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  8. What a great treat Mary Kay. Perfectly captures the magic of Paris. You DO find fun and unique way to experience the city!

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    1. Thanks, Mike. I hope that Peter and you had a wonderful Valentine's Day - or were you too busy making your selections for your big Oscar competition with Blobby?! ;)

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  9. Thank you for the lovely poem, I love your blog and appreciate the journey you take me on.

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    1. You're welcome, Thérèse, and many thanks for joining me on the journey. As the old saying goes, ""Good company in a journey makes the way seem shorter."

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