The girl who works in the bicycle shop
Listens intently as I explain
Some philosophical point. I stop
And try to restrain myself, to refrain
From bulldozing her point of view.

She responds, then listens. I renew,
Reflecting, as she turns to me:
That all the perfumes of Araby,
And all the pearls in the sea,
Even the fashions of Givenchy,
Could not improve on her unassuming beauty.

Christopher Brooks, July 2004