Poetry

A Frenchman Weeps

by

Nicole Kuwik

I have never been to Paris, but
the caption on the photo says
"A Frenchman weeps as German soldiers march
into the French capital,
Paris, on June 14, 1940,
after the Allied armies had been driven back across France."

Well, the photo makes my eyes fill up too,
Something about his suit and tie and
the way my dad bit his lip
the whole way back from the casket
at my grandma's funeral