september 15th: peniche el alamein

think of these colours: purple, turquoise, mahogany, glistening crimson, verdant green

L. and I walked along the river to a place we didn’t know, with unspecific directions, & to a concert of two musicians we were unfamiliar with. Small posters pointed the way down to the boats; we followed them & found a large purple boat that was full of houseplants. it looked like a miniature jungle or greenhouse.

a red-headed man with silver circle glasses & a yellow tie politely promised to fetch us when there was room for us on the boat, but until then we would have to wait. we dangled our feet over the wall & talked about Shakespeare.

the first performance was a young girl who played deep yearning accordion music. wisps of cigarette smoke curled around my shoulders; i was looking out the portholes on the bottom of the ship to the lights reflecting on the Seine, sitting on the ground looking up at her delicate fingers multi-tasking, creating, & people staring imaginatively enraptured. it sounded like two people who didn’t fit together in bed, like waking up & bumping your head, or tripping while trying to tie your shoelace. it tasted like salty pancakes & burnt popcorn, & felt like rubbing velvet backwards.

the pink glass ceiling lamps swayed with the tilting lilt of the boat, casting iron shadows on the turquoise walls. Julia Kent plucked her cello into a frenzy & filled the hull with even more growing plants. I saw two children falling in love, falling down hills, & growing old together.