The story involves fireworks on display,
day lilies in bloom,
also an unhappy doomed stepdaughter,
nymphs playing in the fountain,
a mysterious trip
to Tangier as a place of refuge,
a priceless painting
once owned by Durand-Ruel,
a strange odor
at the local flax market,
Monet’s old dried up paint tubes,
an ill-matched couple
from Finland on their honeymoon,
the town prostitute
with a new umbrella and new shoes,
a diary someone kept
while visiting Mesopotamia,
Cyrus the Great ordering
the rebuilding of the Temple,
Marcel Proust’s mattress
with his body-print still in it,
and Napoleon’s tongue.
But don’t worry.
I won’t tell you the ending.
You’ll be surprised.