RACONTEUR IN TANGIER
"What
can go wrong is always
more interesting than what
goes right." Paul Bowles
Tell me those stories
about you as shadow
of Jane Bowles, breathing
on her neck, shining light
into her mouth, the pain
she suffered, waves
of pain from a bad
tooth--too much sugar
in her mint tea. Ha!
You suspected the majoun
sticky with raisins, dates,
honey, ground ginger,
walnuts, nutmeg, anise,
globs of goat butter
and of course cannabis,
cleaned of stems
and seeds.
If memory
serves,
you profited as her dentist
in Tangier. No! You played
would-be biographer
trying to extract elusive
details about her wedding,
her marriage to Paul Bowles.
she called Paul Bupple
or Fluffy--that man
always
answering his door in necktie
and jacket named her his
muse.
But she limped, didn't she?
She lived on a floor below him.
Did he choose a Jew to embarrass
his father and expect his mother
to believe Jane indeed was the
adorable bride, a respectable
cover? Was it true her female
lovers poisoned her?
Karren L. Alenier