RAINDROPS

Raindrops fall
in the window pane
shadowing a summer dawn
rubbing out my initials
of my name on the harbor tree
cicadas whispering
above the road of stones
by the Seine
the postman Roulin
delivers me a love letter to me
from San Francisco
in a Renoir setting in the park
as I meet a man
reading out his memoirs
during the Occupation
one of the few good Frenchmen
who fought the fascists
in word and deed
I treat him to croissants
and ice coffee
telling him of my second cousin
Mendes-France from Grenoble
where there were goats by the Alps
imprisoned by the Nazis
who became president of France
When De Gaulle's power collapsed
and came to teach politics
in Brandeis where we met
and I showed him a stamp
with his portrait on it.