Short Story (in process)

Jean was completely sheltered. He did everything with his father; he went to the zoo with him, was tutored by him everyday. He lived to please his father, to have some connection to the mother whom he never knew; he knew that his father was always dreaming about her.

He disliked Celeste because she was the only one who didn’t love everything he did. He heard her muttering under her breath about how spoiled he had become, and he never understood exactly what she meant. All he knew is that she made him do all the stuff that he didn’t want to do, like practicing his math and his French when his father was busy.

Lemonnier devoted himself to spending time with his son, no matter what business changes came up. He made sure to plan outings at least three times a week, despite Celeste’s insisting that the boy’s time would be much better spent learning instead of constant pranks and playing. Yet Lemonnier insisted on spending as much time with his son as possible.

Jean loved sports, including soccer and tennis. He would play with his father all the time, with their games often dissolving into fits of laughter. Lemonnier’s friend M. Duretour often came by as well, and joined in the action. Even strict Celeste, watching from the window, couldn’t always hold back a smile watching the two men and the boy chasing each other around the field.

As Jean matured, he had become accustomed to a lot of attention. However, as a few more years went by, he began to feel the way Celeste had known he would feel eventually – restricted. He began to notice things about how his father behaved. One day he approached his father and inquired as to whether he could invite his friend to come and visit. Lemonnier was completely surprised. “My Jean,” he said. “We were going to go for a walk in the park that day! Don’t you remember?”

Jean accepted that for the day, and had a lovely time in the park. Yet he couldn’t help noticing that his father seemed to have something planned for every single time he wanted to do something on his own. When he asked if he could go and speak to some children his age while watching a tennis match in a nearby town, he was told no, and asked, “Don’t you enjoy spending time just you and me?”


*** To come: as Jean wishes for more freedom, his father finds a woman he loves as much as his first wife, and begins to ignore Jean. Having received his freedom, Jean wants his shelter back.****

Ekphrastic Poem: The Lighthouse at Portrieux Original Draft

The water sparkles with dots of light.
Yellows and blues,
Greens and whites.
Ships bob
Bare of sail
Waiting to fly.
Masts rise above all else
A line from the sky to the sea.

A tan beach, speckled with brown
Paves a road
Into the distance
Where a lighthouse sits
A commander
Glowing even in daylight
A beacon to the surrounding world.

An island reaches toward the light.
The rock of all sorts of colors,
From shining yellow,
To purple and blue and red,
Lined with that same pure sand
As the opposite shore.

Ekphrastic Poem: The Lighthouse at Portrieux

The Lighthouse at Portrieux (Based on the painting by Paul Signac)

The water sparkles with dots of light.
Glowing yellows and gentle blues,
Greens and whites.
Ships bob, bare
Of sail
Waiting to fly.
Masts rise above
All else
A line from the sea to the sky.

A tan beach, speckled with brown
Paves a road
Into the distance
Where a lighthouse sits
A commander
Bright even in daylight
A beacon to the surrounding world.

An island reaches
Toward the light.
The rock of all sorts
Of colors,
From shining yellow,
To purple and blue and red,
Lined with that same pure sand
As the opposite shore.

Original Sonnet Draft

Some days I wish to fly into the sky,
Just like a bird I’d soar so far away,
Yet nobody would ever question why,
For some the earth is not the place to stay.

I’d dance about both butterfly and cloud,
The penetrating blue sky right behind,
Such happiness that I would shout out loud,
And none would bother to pay any mind.

The wind would carry me across on wings,
Just laughing, smiling everywhere I go,
I’d spin around the robin as he sings,
The only place to just go with the flow.

But much as I would like to fly around,
I would be just as happy on the ground.

Sonnet: Fly Away

Some days I long to fly into the sky,
Just like a bird I’d soar so far away,
Yet nobody would ever question why,
For some the earth is not the place to stay.

I’d dance about both butterfly and cloud,
The purely colored blue sky right behind,
Such joyfulness that I would shout out loud,
And none would bother to pay any mind.

The wind would carry me across on wings,
Just laughing, smiling everywhere I go,
I’d swirl around the robin as he sings,
The only place to just go with the flow.

But much as I would like to float around,
I know I’m just as happy on the ground.