This poem was written October 1994 in a Stanford Continuing Studies class titled "Dare to Speak French II" taught by Vida Bertrand. After reading Robert Desnos's excellent poem "La fourmi" we split into groups and were to write our own poems. Our group decided to rotate around having each person add a line in turn. Unfortunately I don't know the names of anyone in my group, but I've given a short description of each in the key.
I've been interested for some time in doing a collaborative work with several people in which each person would try to manipulate the story to serve their own purposes. So I was happy to find this poem very naturally turned out to be just that! In case it isn't obvious, I was trying to force the poem in the direction of Robbe-Grillet, in particular the interlocking novels La Belle Captive / Topology of a Phantom City / Recollections of the Golden Triangle. La Belle Captive starts with the line "Ca commence par une pierre qui tombe, dans le silence, verticalement, immobile".
key: 1 man "lawyer" 2 woman "funny" 3 woman "romantic" 4 me --- 3 le cheval 1 pourquoi moi? le chevalier 2 je prefere les autos 3 c'est Maurice ou c'est John Wayne 4 qui tombe devant moi 1 l'homme avec le chapeau du chevalier mais sans cheval 2 je prefere les autos 3 le chevalier me regarde avec ses yeux bleus et trists 4 lui, qui est sous la pierre qui tombe de nouveau 1 beaucoup d'avocats sont commes le derriere de cheval 2 moi, je prefere les autos plus que les avocats 3 mon chevalier me protege contre les avocats 4 qui sont maintenant en traine de tomber a leur mort 3 pourqui moi, le chevalier, tombe?