Marble cameo bust of Marie-Therese of Spain, wife of Louis XIV of France. The cameo is framed in gold gilt wood and adorns a corridor of Chateau du Versailles, Versailles, France.
For Poetry Thursday, the prompt is to write a villanelle. "A villanelle?" was my initial response. Then I sat down to write and this poem appeared. I'm not sure if it qualifies as a villanelle, which despite the dictionary definition - a short poem of fixed form, written in tercets, usually five in number, followed by a final quatrain, all based on two rhymes - remains a foreign concept:
Just because you loved me once
doesn't mean you know me
yet you stand on the threshold
and look at me like that
again
Just because you loved me then
doesn't mean you understand me
what makes you think
we can begin this dance
again
Just because you love me now
doesn't mean I'm ready
to abandon choices made
in the absence of fear
again
Just because you promise a future
doesn't mean I accept
the rosy pictures you paint
though my heart aches to believe
again
Just because you look at me
with eyes longing to penetrate
the veil of mysteries I embrace
doesn't mean I can forget you
again
All this time apart
just one elusive dream:
someday you'd find me
and look at me like that
again... and again.
You are more than making up for my quick visit on a rainy day to Versailles last month. Thanks
Posted by: Di Overton | 28 April 2007 at 16:00
What a beautiful poem, Tara- it's very bittersweet, it seems...
xo
Posted by: Regina Clare Jane | 27 April 2007 at 15:03
Hi - I dropped by from Jeanne's Bliss Blog. I enjoy reading your blog and decided to leave a comment. This peom is hauntingly beautiful to me.
Posted by: Salvina | 27 April 2007 at 05:03
Oh Tara,
The medallion and the poem are just beautiful.
France is so inspiring. It makes one be in touch with the heart. Falling in love in Paris is so much easier then in America. Love is simple. Yet American men are so complex.
Thank-you for the beauty.
-Robin
Posted by: Robin Sherwood | 26 April 2007 at 23:53
I love this poem so much.
Posted by: kristen | 26 April 2007 at 19:34
I loved it Tara! I hope you're having fun!
XXOO
Posted by: Tammy | 26 April 2007 at 17:03
This is off topic.
I was saddend to learn today that Janet McDonald, the well know American author and attorney, passed away in Paris from cancer on April 11, 2007. Look for the tribute to Janet, which will be coming in the near future, on the Cafe de la Soul website. Janet was a very talented and amazing woman. The world will sorely miss her.
Posted by: fastaire | 26 April 2007 at 16:43
Tara this is pure beauty I am enthralled bu the elegance and flow of your words, lovely lovely my friend!
XO
Kristen
Posted by: Kristen R | 26 April 2007 at 16:14
This is so poignantly romantic, Tara.
Hope you're enjoying your getaway~ xo
Posted by: tinker | 26 April 2007 at 09:01
i want to wake up one day and be in Paris. I loved your poem it is so beautiful.
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Posted by: Jennifer Ramos | 26 April 2007 at 02:30
Dear Ms. Bradford,
I am a newcomer to your blog and to travelling as well. My husband and I went abroad for the first time last summer to celebrate our 20th wedding anniversary. We were in France and Italy for 6 glorious weeks. It was one of the best things we ever did for ourselves! Of all the amazing and beautiful places we stayed, Paris captured my heart. When introduced to your blog last month, I was thrilled to read your posts and sigh over your photos. I immediately set to work and read your entire collection of archives. My husband and I couldn't wait to return to Europe....so we're not! We are returning to France this coming summer for 6 weeks with our three teenage/young adult children. The trip will culminate with a week in a rented apartment near the Luxembourg Gardens in Paris! I can barely breathe I am so excited to show my children my favourite city in the world. Thank you for sharing your life and experiences on Paris Parfait. I am a huge fan of yours!
Posted by: nancy | 26 April 2007 at 01:49