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French Composition

by Richard Jones

I am late. A thousand pardons.
I wondered what had become of you.
I stopped at a barber’s to be shaved and buy a cake of soap.
Let us sit down here at this table on the terrace.
Good. There is no wind and we will be very comfortable.
Waiter, a tea for my friend and a coffee for me.

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Poem of the WeekRichard Jones

Richard Jones is the author of seven poetry collections, including The Correct Spelling & Exact Meaning and Apropos of Nothing, both from Copper Canyon Press. In 2001 The Blessing received the Society of Midland Authors Award for poetry. His work has been anthologized in Billy Collins’s Poetry 180 and Garrison Keillor’s Good Poems, and he has been heard on National Public Radio. Jones is professor of English at DePaul University in Chicago.
Poems of the Week: 2008–2009

Poems of the Week: 2008–2009

Reader Comments

  • Literal translation of a practice piece of dialogue from a French...
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