29 OCTOBER ELEGY FOR SAMUEL PATY

Posted by: a.newspoet - Posted on:

IN 1973 WHEN SAMUEL PATY WAS BORN 

POEMS CONSIDERED BEAUTIFUL

COULD ALSO BE COLLOQUIAL  

AS IN THE WORK OF JACQUES PREVÉRT    

IN ZINC-TOPPED BARS BETWEEN WHITE OR ROUGE 

OFTEN THERE WAS ROOM TO RECONCILE VIEWS   

‘SO FAR SO GOOD’  

BY 1995 THE TAGLINE FOR LA HAINE WAS ALREADY IRONIC

BUT IN THIS TALE OF THREE YOUTHS IN A PSYCHOTIC EPISODE WITH POLICE 

AT LEAST THEY WERE TOGETHER  

JEWISH   GALLIC   ARABIC   

WHILE M. PATY WAS TEACHING

AT JACQUES-PREVÉRT HIGH SCHOOL 

FRANCE MUST HAVE BEEN IN FREE FALL   

COLLAPSING INTO SEPARATE LIFE WORLDS   

WITH CULTURAL IDENTITY AS P.P.E.    

CUE GRUESOME REACTIONS

TO ANY BREACH OF PROTOCOL   

JUST AS OUR IMMUNE SYSTEM OVERREACTS TO CORONAVIRUS   

LEADING TO A HIDEOUS ENVIRONMENT  

THAT THREATENS THE BODY ITSELF     

WISHING THAT SAMUEL PATY 
HAD NOT BEEN KILLED 
ALONG WITH 200 OTHERS 
IN RECENT YEARS  
YOURS TRULY 
THE NEWS POET