L’hymne national d’Elodie

L’hymne national d’Elodie

I see your face glow in every passing street lamp
The flutter in your sleeping eyes
Like the boy that must have slept through miles
On roads cutting through America.

In Auxerre I slow to stop the car at red
You toss your sleepy head
And I can’t resist the urge to stroke your cheek
As the engine idly hums
And the man behind me beeps.

How far away you seem
Wrapped in English speaking dreams
The whisper on your open lips
But I could drive from Lille to Nice
Through all these endless rows of poplar trees
Through all these cafes, berets, wine and cheese

So long as you are huddled there
In this darkened space we share
That’s all I care –
My country’s here with you.