Tahiti

I’m living in a city,
I’m grumpy, grim and gritty,
A sight so far from pretty
That mirrors tell me off and strangers stay
Away.
I chair a subcommittee
On something dull… A pity
I’m not relaxed or witty.
I wish that I could just wake up one day
And say:

I’m moving to Tahiti
Where only birds are tweeting
And walls have no graffiti,
Or maybe there is not a single wall
At all.
I have a strong suspicion
I’ll make a good Tahitian:
A happy disposition,
So full of joi de vivre, tanned and tall.

It’s bound to be a paradise 
To cheer my soul and calm my eyes
With every shade of green
And in-between.
It’s warm, enchanting and remote.
I’ll live a life without a coat,
Without the need to stock 
A single sock.

But I’m living in a city,
I’m grumpy, grim and gritty,
A sight so far from pretty
That mirrors tell me off and strangers stay
Away.
I chair a subcommittee
On something dull… A pity
I’m not relaxed or witty.
I wish that I could just wake up one day
And say:

I’m moving to Tahiti…. etc.

Paul Gauguin, Te Fare (La Maison), 1892