“The French Girl”

The French Girl

Life is laughing flowers
she wrote.
Above a picture of what could’ve been
a community garden:
Magnolia, Hibiscus, Azalea, Peony, Tulip, Iris
botanical names are almost as pretty as the flowers.
I think often. Or is it that the flowers make the names
pretty?
Not sure. Her name
Was Maralina when we met.
She then went on to live as Mar Jolie.
She was from France so maybe
She felt it too difficult for us to know her real name.
Then just recently
She became Lil Lil. She, whoever she is,
loves clubbing and does not drink.
She used to drive like a lost dog.
One head out the window, no eyes on the road.
She was married, but he never lived with her
Hawaii, Kansas, Texas. It just seemed like a military thing
Except…
She was always kind of looking for a husband.
Two days ago she announced in 2020 that she got engaged
In 2019.
She’s been spending a lot of time in Lebanon.
Pictures of her in her clubbing dresses.
Sequined and short with her thirteen year old daughter.
I can almost hear her explain to us,
She must learn culture,
Addressing her daughter along side her in clubbing pictures.
One day she’s posting videos of a Lebanese man singing her love songs
The next her daughter’s gymnastics meet,
Or a birthday party at the Cheesecake Factory.
Today, after was bummed about the year 2020,
Someone wrote, ‘but you’re getting married.’
Her response.
I know!
Which nobody else seemed to know from the messages.
Then days of pictures of walking a dog.
Then days of pictures of flowers.
Then today the quote, Life is flowers laughing.
Was it a language error?
In some ways it was poetically beautiful.
In some ways I felt like I knew Marialiana, Mar Jolie, Lil Lil
The most I’ve every known her.
Just from that one line.
Life is flowers laughing.
Nothing about her makes sense and yet in one statement
She seemed to bloom for me.