Lit eZine Vol 10 | p-3 | POETRY | Sometimes We Draw – Manic Sylph Writes… Poetry & Thoughts by Mona Soorma

SHORT POEM

SOMETIMES WE DRAW
Short Poem by Thibault Jacquot-Paratte

Father and daughter sitting at a table drawing with crayons — *AI generated image*

Sometimes (often)
we draw, together, me and my daughter
and she'll choose which color she wants me to draw with
thrust it into my hands
point out a spot on the paper
and say “tan”
(“tan” means “there”)
designating thus
which part of the blank slate she wants filled
where she wants to see the pale void
become mystified with expression
– lively –
pierced through and through
from an unknown path
to a place bright with memories,
“tan”, “there”, means to go forward
with colors forcibly given
onto
she wants me to break stillness
to put before her
shapes of things
objects, abstract lines
(she likes those a lot),
animals,
at times, she'll request a cat and say “meow meow”
then I draw a cat for her
if she wants a dog she'll say “woof woof”
the rest of the time,
she's content to be surprised
and not to know
or not even to understand what all my circles and lines mean
she just wants something to happen
we get hungry at all ages
infancy, the golden years of elderly sunset
we just want emptiness filled

Connect with Thibault Jacquot-Paratte on his website

Thibault Jacquot-Paratte has published poetry, short fiction, novels, plays, and non-fiction, with a few books to his name, occasionally sidelining as an actor, musician or translator. He has previously worked as a journalist, radio host and coordinator, stage director, hotel worker, cleaner, teacher, proofreader… He holds a Master’s from the Sorbonne, has studied in Norway, Finland, Denmark and Cameroon. He has been published in journals such as Filling Station, Ancrages, The Taj Mahal Review… He has written and published a novel, “Awoken before the evening”, and his poetry chapbook Antéaurore was published by Basic Bruegel Editions in March 2026.