I
the Paris subway is a subterranean labyrinth
which like the underground tunnels of mines nourishes
and bleeds
the glittering surface life
we advance
from darkness to darkness
through tunnels of yellow light we walk
through long corridors standing motionless we float along automatic stairways
or perpetually moving sidewalks like dolls
or silent mannequins from darkness to darkness
until suddenly
unexpectedly
we come
out
in the open air
and the white perfection
of Notre Dame clear and precise dazzles us
II
atmosphere of the Seine
white sun against white clouds
a white bridge stretches lingering arches
over water that runs to us from the past
laden with recollections
it merges with ours
as diving gulls
merge with
reflections of the sun
on the water
. . . Hail . . .
. . . those who are to die . . .
Ill
again
we descend
below the surface
here a man seated on the ground has removed a boot
to display the hideous stump of his mangled foot as he stretches out his hand
a little further we are met by the dissonant screams
of a young man accompanied by his guitar who sings with his cap on the ground a song of joyful contagious rhythm with a face of paralyzed despair
the hordes rush by them
it has been ten hours since they left their homes through black and frozen streets now they return again
through black and frozen streets
at times their faces
devoid of expression
twitch
in tiny muscular spasms
IV
during the journey and then on the platforms
we are met by
one advertisement after another that promise happiness at a discount
or on the installment plan
all we have to do is buy
a pair of stockings tube of toothpaste building lot or the brand of television that guarantees
the happy union of a family
(upon the wall we see displayed the happy faces of the children
watching the image of a cowboy behind them the happy faces of the parents
happy to see their children finally happy)
in one such station
next to the vending machines for cigarettes and candy there is a glass behind which several mannequins model the effect of different wigs
one of them
by means of an ingenious mechanism demonstrates the contrast between baldness and hair by the slow and rhythmic raising and lowering of a luxuriant toupee of natural hair
V
on the 26th day of November
in the Louis Blanc station
of the Paris subway
there was an explosion
that reduced a ticket booth to rubble and wounded several passengers
the detonation was tremendous
but the causes have not been discovered
perhaps it was due
to an accumulation of despairs
that sooner or later had to find an outlet
VI
that sooner or later
will explode
and send up flying through white air
among the gulls
fragments of the white bridge that stretches lingering arches
over the Seine
before the terrified eyes
of the prophetic gargoyles of Notre Dame