C’est la vie

~ jama

Bonjour, mes amis. Parlez-vous français?

“Still Life with Bottle, Carafe, Bread, and Wine” by Claude Monet (1863).
BETTER IN FRENCH
by D.E. Green

for Diamonique Walker

Why does everything sound better in French?
Wittier? More pointed? More apt and apropos?
You know, with savoir faire and all that merde.
A woman I know from Cote d’Ivoire
likes to say how much she hates things,
but she does it with panache. Sometimes
she even says, je vous déteste. Sure, she’s saying
she hates me, but, god, doesn’t it sound
great? I mean I could be hated all day
by everybody as long as they said, je vous
déteste. And I want to do some je déteste-ing
of my own. Je déteste le sandwich de pain rassis.
It’s just stale bread, but it sounds like something
you’d hear at the United Nations, even the Louvre.
Wouldn’t it change the whole sorry dining
experience to walk into a MacDonald’s
and say, je déteste votre Big Mac? To tell
a bombastic politician, Assez, monsieur! Assez!

~ copyright © 2016 D.E. Green.

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“At the Café” by Edouard Manet (1878).

Totally agree with Professor Green here. French has a sophisticated, elegant music all its own. Not only is it witty and pointed, it commands attention like a beautiful woman in stilettos. Self assured, nonchalant and très blasée, French is a language with attitude.

As soon as you say pamplemousse or petit à petit, you find yourself donning a black beret and nibbling on escargots at a sidewalk café. So vivid is this language, it can transport you to the city of lights en moins d’une minute.

Of course the best thing about French is food — la nourriture. French chefs long ago elevated la cuisine to a fine art and they have the vocabulary to prove it. Why fry when you can sauté? Better to fricassée than stew. ‘Stock’ is ho-hum, try bouillon. ‘Fresh herbs tied together with string’ is nowhere near as romantic or kiss-the-fingertips flavorful as bouquet garni. And if you’re feeling a little saucy, reach for the béchamel, hollandaise or velouté.

So classy!

“The French Chef” by Patton Hunter.

I find the names of certain French foods just as delectable as the foods themselves. Consider filet mignon, quiche lorraine, coq au vin, soufflé au chocolat, crème brûlée, tarte tatin, macarons, croissants, clafoutis. I love these names; just saying them is a sensory experience par excellence.

via Sticky Mango Rice.

Does cooking sometimes feel like a chore? Perhaps with a little mis en place, chiffonade, julienne, mirepoix, déglacer — it would be a lot more fun.

One thing is certain: French is pure poésie!

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D. E. Green teaches literature, composition, and creative writing at Augsburg University. His scholarly work focuses on Shakespeare, especially in relation to film, queer theory, and performance. He also writes and publishes poetry and creative nonfiction. His scholarly work has appeared in Shakespeare Quarterly and Shakespeare Bulletin, as well as many essay anthologies. His poetry has appeared in Sidewalks, Rag Mag, Poetic Strokes 2015, and Recognize: The Voices of Bisexual Men. His poem “Gratitude” won the 2017 Martin Lake Journal Bookend Prize. His new collection of poems, Jumping the Median (Sept 2019), has just been released by Encircle Publications. “Better in French” first appeared online as an honorable mention in the October 2016 Goodreads Newsletter Contest. 

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Lovely and talented Sarah Grace Tuttle is hosting the Roundup this week. Be sure to zip on over to check out the full menu of poetic goodness being shared around the blogosphere. Have a nice weekend and a very Happy Mother’s Day!

*Copyright © 2025 Jama Rattigan of Jama’s Alphabet Soup. All rights reserved.

27 thoughts on “C’est la vie”

  1. oui. Oui. OUI! I love hearing French and trying to remember the words I learned long ago in HS. It all seemed so elegant for an inelegant me trying to grow up too fast…and now trying to grow old as slow as a slow old girl can go.

    Liked by 1 person

    1. LOL. Glad to hear you’re on board with the Frenchness, Linda! We loved our high school French teacher. 🙂

      P.S. You are NOT “a slow old girl,” but a jolie jeune fille. 🙂

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  2. Tres magnifique mon ami!!! Im inspired to head to my nearest patisserie for a croissant and cafe au lait😉 Adieu!

    Liked by 1 person

  6. YOU devil you! Now I’m starving. And I just ate my big bowl of Irish oatmeal. These words, these images, the poem, are a sweet treat. [And in synchronicity, I feature a home made sweet bread by our daughter on my #PF blog today)

    a plus tard, your fan, jan

    Liked by 1 person

  7. Green’s poem is a gem!

    I remember, in junior high, learning how to say “Hello, My name is…” and “Where is the bathroom?” But that’s about it. 😀

    Liked by 1 person

    1. We had to listen to tapes and repeat the phrases endlessly. “Bonjour Jean, comment vas-tu? Tres bien, merci” etc. “Ou est la biblioteque?”

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  8. I took French in high school as well. My teacher, Mrs Quinn, was a petite woman with the most gorgeous French accent! I also learned to say my name is as well as my birthday is. For the entire 3 years of French I was Mademoiselle Isabella! Isabella was my surname which everyone mistook as my first name! Merci, Madame Quinn. I often remember you!

    Liked by 1 person

  10. Jama, bread and pastries make me very happy. 🙂 We love watching the Great British Baking Show and have learned a lot about many of these…and I have even baked a few (though Paul and Pru probably would have LOTS to say about them!). Thank you! xo

    Liked by 1 person

    1. Also love the GBBS! I remember before Pru, Mary Berry was his fellow judge. The only recipes I’ve ever made from that show was from Nadiya Hussain’s children’s cookbook (she was a former winner).

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  11. C’est magnifique! Thank you for sharing this delight of words… and making me crave a croissant! And yes! to that final line of the poem. Assez! indeed.

    Liked by 1 person

  14. Thanks for the linguistic field trip, Jama! The only languages offered in my small rural HS were Spanish and German. Spanish would have been so much more practical, but I opted for German (the language of my ancestors). So instead of the lovely sound of French, I got the (hilarious) word salad of German vocabulary.

    Liked by 1 person

  15. Jama, what a magnifique post today. While study Frence from High School to Freshman year in college, I managed to read The Little Prince in French but could not do justice to the language. I wonder what would happen if I go to France. At least I will know what kind of pastries to purchase. Thanks for bringing viva la france with its. artwork, language, and eatery.

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