We wanted to make a gesture, fine
We spotted the very thing at the Supermarche
And the choice it was sublime
A huge bowl of chrysanthemums, we bought the biggest on show
And left this lovely token at the pool shop to go
Home that night, to the pool man's wife.
The next day we told our cleaner, the sad story and our need
To show our thoughts and affection in a very simple deed.
In horror our cleaner told us ' Madame ce n'est pas bon'
The flowers are for Toussaint and to the cimetiere they are gone.
All was not lost, we phoned to apologize and the laughing Frenchman said,
My wife is Swedish and she thought the flowers very pretty
To her they have not the symbolism, 'eh, Madame- that would have been a pity,'
Val says this was one of our first big blunders in France, giving a tub of chrysanthemums to someone who was very ill. I blanche when I think about it even now... but we did not know.
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