ANAIS NIN IN PARIS

Everything they taught
you on Naples St.
in Paris
to embarrass
or harass you on arrival
it at least made you think
beyond the voyeur romances
and alliances of your youth
the winks of the guys
in the skinny hallways
like shrinks in disguise
or about survival in analysis,
you were always under cover
Anais Nin,
for life was a killer
unmasking even a kiss
from your lover, Henry Miller.