REGLES DU JEU

Some towns are like a puzzle. They don’t give themselves away
Without the exertion of a little mental energy.
This is such a place. Initially I headed for the
Seafront, but was sent back to jail, blockaded by road and
Rail. In the sun I chased my tail through wide avenues which
Yielded nothing but car dealerships and blank warehouses.
Conceding first round defeat, I retired to the hostel
(Mock Tudor; decor yellow-purple) to regain my strength.
To be rewarded in the second leg by an Escher
City with vistas sublime, taut Pacific horizons,
Pastel mazes of corrugated brick. Take to the hills
And every step is part of the game, ascension then
Decension, rise to the top and the view is born again,
Turn a corner and it folds into a granite warren
Of neo-Victorian style. A game of snakes and ladders,
Played on a grand scale. Once you’ve cracked it, yo-yo’d the lifts,
Valparaiso concedes like a benign chess master out
To prove it’s not the winning that counts, but the taking part.



valparaiso 17.10.04