Roberta Writes – Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge and Tanka Tuesday

Esther Chilton's Word Prompt, photography, poetry, Tanka Tuesday 1 Minute

Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge

Esther’s challenge word this week is Vision. I am continuing my Paris series of poems and posts. You can join in Esther’s challenge here: https://estherchilton.co.uk/2026/04/08/writing-prompts-110/

Medici Fountain in Jardin du Luxembourg

It looms above me

a vision in sandstone,

bronze, and marble

the Medici Fountain

heard before it’s seen

water gushing down wide stairs

into a long tree-shaded basin

in white marble

the sea nymph, Galatea,

and the mortal, Acis

make love

while from behind

the jealous cyclops, Polyphemus

represented in bronze

sneaks upon them

a dead bull across his back

Is Acis’ death a tragedy?

Or is his transformation

into a river spirit

perfect immortalisation?

I wonder

my thoughts flowing

alongside the representations of

the River Rhone and River Seine

observed by Faunus and Diana

My photographs of Medici Fountain and closeups of the sculptures are in the slideshow below.

  • Side view of the Medici Fountain
  • Close up of Polyphemus looking down on the lovers, Galatea and Acis
  • Close up of Galatea and Acis
  • Close up of Polyphemus with the dead bull across his back

My Youtube video of the Medici Fountain.

Fountaine de Leda (at the back)

Fontaine de Leda

hidden fountain

depicting in stone

the seduction of Aetolian princess, Leda

by sky and thunder god, Zeus

in the form of a swan

Leda holds the bird

on her knees while

water flows from its bronze beak

the pair, encircled by roses

are shot by an arrow

from Cupid, lurking in the corner

The Fountaine de Leda is at the back of the Medici Fountain and a lot of people miss it. I saw it because I walked around the back of the Medici Fountain to get photographs on the other side.

Tanka Tuesday

My prompt for this week was to use onomatopoeia in a poem. I’ve written a tautogram poem using onomatopoeia using the American cinquain form.

spouting

sound symphony

splishing, splashing, spraying

splattering smooth, shining surface

splendid

You can join in Tanka Tuesday here: https://tankatuesday.com/2026/04/07/tankatuesday-poetry-challenge-no-59-onomatopoeia-in-poetry-04-07-2026/

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Published by robertawrites235681907

I am a writer of young adult fiction and poetry

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67 thoughts on “Roberta Writes – Esther Chilton’s Writing Challenge and Tanka Tuesday”

      1. Yes, we did. The other place we visited that had a nice garden was Place de Vosges. Victor Hugo’s apartment was there, which is now a museum. We didn’t have time to go inside, unfortunately. So much to see, so little time. I could easily go back to see more.

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