Mademoiselle Dégagé Poem by Neil Solan

She was wearing a hat of green
The day I first saw her,
The type you'd imagine a French youth to wear;
She created quite a stir
In me.

I asked her for the time
And in perfect English she said 'It's three',
I took on her smile and gave her a note
And waited for her 'Oui'.

Five hours later on
I left for the fountain bench,
I was there for an hour and she finally showed,
Oh how I loved her appalling sense
Of time.

We set off that night
To the disgust of her family,
She never cared for anyone else
The way she cared for me
Back then.

We wandered many strange tracks
And wet many a dangling lace,
I never saw a tear nor hurt
Upon her bonny face.

We had to do it all;
We stole, deceived and pricked some paws,
She was happy as could be back then
Though we often broke the law.

Well, what you give
You surely get back,
That is clear to me now
And we give 'em out in stacks.

One day I woke alone,
My lady was nowhere around,
I got up and looked round the hotel room
And then I found her on the ground
Outside.

Her green hat lay on the floor
Just inches from her,
She'd gone out to suprise me with breakfast
And some low-life had robbed her.

I threw myself on top of her
But she would not converse,
I begged and pleaded with God above
But this could not be reversed.

I've never forgotten her,
She lives on inside of me,
My lady dégagé I love you more and more
With each passing second of the day.

She was wearing a hat of green
The day I first saw her,
The type you'd imagine a French youth to wear,
She created quite a stir
In me.