L'Inconnue: The Unknown

CARRY ON TUESDAY
http://carryontuesdayprompt.blogspot.com/

The words in blue are the opening words of

Mark Twain’s ‘The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn’

L'INCONNUE: THE UNKNOWN

You don't know about me....

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And you never will.

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When first they plucked me from the Seine

They only saw

Hair like seaweed,

Orifices filled with mud,

Clothes disshevilled and filthy,

Maybe creatures

Of the water

Now part of me.

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They laid me on a slab

In the morgue

With all the other bodies

Set there for recognition.

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It was then they noticed my smile!

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There,

Among the gaping, twisted, macabre faces

Of other suicides,

Was my face,

Smiling,

Serene,

Beautiful and young.

But, above all, smiling.

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I must have been happy to die!

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You don't know about my past.

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You never will.

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Shopgirl, nanny, mistress,

Pregnant?

That's my secret.

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But you loved my smile so much

That you preserved me

In a death mask.

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No-one ever claimed me.

No parent, friend or lover.

I remained Unknown.

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But my lips have been kissed

By more people

Than any other lips on earth!

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What was my name?

Berthe? Yvonne? Mathilde?

Who knows.

But the whole world knows me as

L'Inconnue.

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Read More:

"The popularity of L’Inconnue did begin to wane as the century went on, but her image was revived in the 1960’s, thanks to a new development in medical training. In the 1950’s, Dr. Peter Safar refined a system of lifesaving techniques that eventually became known as CPR and he recruited a Norwegian toy manufacturer, Asmund Laerdal, to produce a mannequin on which these techniques could be practiced. As he created this mannequin Laerdal was inspired to give it the face of the young woman who drowned in the Seine, thus allowing CPR trainees to symbolically save her life. By now, Resusci Anne (or CPR Annie as she is called in the U.S.), has been saved thousands, if not millions of times over, and her face has become known to new generations of admirers as “the most kissed face of all tme”. It’s a fitting tribute to L’Inconnue, whoever she may have been, in that her ultimate legacy will not only be tied to tragedy and death, but to compassion and survival."

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IF ARIES PARTNERS TAURUS

Like oil and water this is not the simplest sort of mix!
'Home-body' meets 'High-Flyer'! A tricky one to fix.
There's Aries, dressed-up to the nines, longing to hit the town,
And Taurus saying ' Let's relax.' and 'Why don't you calm down?'
Taurus can be a solid mate, rather dull but stable,
And always with a weather-eye beamed on the dinner-table.
Taurus is a manager; Aries likes to spend;
But maybe they can compromise and do well in the end.
Taurus can be possessive, which can cramp an Aries' style,
But Aries may like to be 'possessed', sometimes, for a while.
In bed they'll both be really great, but, sadly, in the morning
Aries may still find Taurus dull. That's when Aries will start yawning!
Aries enjoys a conversation, problems must be aired,
While Taurus can be so laid-back the soul is never bared.
This frustrates poor Aries, who often may explode,
And even, when things get extreme, Aries may hit the road!
But, if they hang-on long enough, Aries will come to see
That Taurus can be a steady sign to have in a family-tree.
The home will become a haven, not just a some 'gilded cage',
And this is a couple who may grow close.
Like wine, they'll improve with age!
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