The Constellations of Paris - Shannon Lund
poetry ☆
poetry ☆
Awakening in Parisian night
to a city dotted with flames of dance
and blooming artistry; as moonlight
dawns, socialites by the river flourish.
Nimble and refined aesthete, fresh
from her downtown salon,
escapes her birthright promise, takes flight
into that fatefully unrestrained darkness beyond.
Shadows provide the only reprieve
from what is expected of high station life. Those
pillars of marble, colossal and white
with age, cast them dark enough to hide
all, even the brightness of La Belle Époque.
As she strolls past the Louvre under
architectural puzzles and wrought iron lamplight,
she nods with secret smiles at passersby.
Like her, they are that fateful type
who can only find their footing in the dark.
Grasping at acrylics of the hillside district, looking to ignite
their senses, they flood the streets past evening,
barely tasting the rich wine from their door-to-door
endeavors, trying to catch that elusive spirit of
luxury. With glittering diablerie, she embraces this rite
and relishes the weight of the intricate
array of diamonds set in a golden web
over her chest. This net of stars, a dozen
monuments to heroes past and ages finite,
grounds her in the dark and makes the night a work of art.
Shannon Lund is an avid reader, writer, and editor from the Bay Area. She studied English, Women's & Gender Studies, and Creative Writing at SCU and earned a certificate in Editing & Publishing through UCLA Extension. In her free time, she can be found reading to meet her yearly book goal, learning sewing and embroidery, and hosting themed dinner parties. Find her on Instagram at @shannonklund and on TikTok at @thewritershanl!
