DE VOERSTREEK*
It is recounted that when
the noblemen of Flanders
were received at the court
of the French king
they were shabbily asked to
sit on wooden benches.
At which the gentlemen
divested themselves of their coats,
folded and rolled up
those coats of velvet,
brocade and ermine
and then sat on them as on
cushions
which they left lying there
after the assembly.
- ‘Oh, hello there, seigneurs flamands,
you’re forgetting your
beautiful expensive coats!’
The Flemings shrugged their
shoulders
and said: ‘French gentlemen,
regard this
as a small present for your
king.’
That was in the thirteenth
century, people say.
Today you can hear at night
in the palaces of Brussels
our seigneurs flamands
busy with their language
conflict,
baiting, snarling,
geo-politically opportune.
They grind their teeth
for they’re thinking of
their voters
Ye, my lords, see what ye do
and so leave that drab
jacket of de Voerstreek
lined with rancune,
sewn in impotence
woven in interests,
behind on the Walloon wooden
bench.
A small present.
*De Voerstreek/Les Fourons [Fr.] is an area which is a symbol of the
conflict between the Flemish and Walloon peoples.
Bigger men.
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