NYC Midnight Rhyming Story Challenge: My Entry!
As a reminder, this was my group’s assignment, with a maximum length of 600 words:
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Theme: Fulfillment
Emotion: Skeptical
Below is my entry. I did the best I could. Enjoy!
Italian Innuendo
He sat at his desk, numerous notebooks at hand,
and pondered the possibility of flying over this land.
“There must be a way to launch off the ground,
but gravity stubbornly keeps my machines earthbound.”
Leonardo did sigh as he sketched a quick thought.
The design wasn’t much but it was better than naught.
A light footstep sounded from off to his right,
as his lady appeared in the doorway, a wonderous sight.
Her bodice was well fitted - a nicely modest maroon.
The slashed sleeves voluminous, which took up more room.
Her waist diminutive, her skirt abundant and extensive;
He knew from experience silk brocade was expensive.
Cecilia approached and laid her pale hand on his arm,
smiled sweetly at Leonardo, and turned on the charm.
“I guessed to find you here, deep in your studies all day.
What must I do to persuade you to play?
Milan is so lovely, and the weather a delight -
shall we stroll through the gardens ere it is night?”
He stretched his stiff back, and his mouth formed a smile.
He adored Cecilia, and had for some while.
She was comely indeed, and oft modeled for him.
Her hazel brown eyes lit her face from within.
“What you say is quite true, Cecilia my sweet.
I don’t fancy a stroll, but could certainly eat.
My stomach has been rumbling as loud as Vesuvius.
Will you arrange wine and luncheon, just for the two of us?”
Cecilia’s gaze dropped to the sketch on the page.
Her brow furled in concentration as her mind tried to gauge…
…could the canopy spin fast enough through the sky
to lift the platform beneath, so the figure might fly?
Her youthful blush soon blanched to the color of ash -
she sensed his construction would end in a crash.
“By God’s mercy, how can you conceive such a thing?
What terrible repercussions are you trying to bring?
Man cannot bodily fly to the heavens, forsooth -
the Earth is our home, I tell you but truth!”
Leonardo gently grasped Cecelia’s soft hand.
Her skepticism hurt him; she failed to understand.
It was not a lack of vision in the future he saw,
rather her immediate detection of an underlying flaw.
He rose from his desk, and quickly turned her about.
“Perhaps you are right, let us take a walk and get out.”
She murmured a prayer to forget his foolish invention.
Their quiet stroll in the gardens released much of her tension.
Cecelia lifted her eyes to his and produced a wan smile.
“I’m sorry, dear one, forgiveness may take me a while.”
He loved Cecelia Gallerani - she meant more to him than life,
but as lady-in-waiting to the Duchess, she could not be his wife.
He treasured her steadfast presence, elegant demeanor, and quick mind -
another woman with her gifts would be problematic to find.
Leonardo wished to fulfill her deepest desires, yet was wary -
She had not reacted well to his armored Automa cavaliere.
Should he commission her a song, story, or mayhap a sonnet?
To provide her even a modicum of happiness, he would get right on it.
Abruptly she stopped, and lay her delicate hand on his chest.
“To be clear Leonardo, celibacy is not always what’s best.”
Genre: Romantic Comedy
Theme: Fulfillment
Emotion: Skeptical
Below is my entry. I did the best I could. Enjoy!
Italian Innuendo
He sat at his desk, numerous notebooks at hand,
and pondered the possibility of flying over this land.
“There must be a way to launch off the ground,
but gravity stubbornly keeps my machines earthbound.”
Leonardo did sigh as he sketched a quick thought.
The design wasn’t much but it was better than naught.
A light footstep sounded from off to his right,
as his lady appeared in the doorway, a wonderous sight.
Her bodice was well fitted - a nicely modest maroon.
The slashed sleeves voluminous, which took up more room.
Her waist diminutive, her skirt abundant and extensive;
He knew from experience silk brocade was expensive.
Cecilia approached and laid her pale hand on his arm,
smiled sweetly at Leonardo, and turned on the charm.
“I guessed to find you here, deep in your studies all day.
What must I do to persuade you to play?
Milan is so lovely, and the weather a delight -
shall we stroll through the gardens ere it is night?”
He stretched his stiff back, and his mouth formed a smile.
He adored Cecilia, and had for some while.
She was comely indeed, and oft modeled for him.
Her hazel brown eyes lit her face from within.
“What you say is quite true, Cecilia my sweet.
I don’t fancy a stroll, but could certainly eat.
My stomach has been rumbling as loud as Vesuvius.
Will you arrange wine and luncheon, just for the two of us?”
Cecilia’s gaze dropped to the sketch on the page.
Her brow furled in concentration as her mind tried to gauge…
…could the canopy spin fast enough through the sky
to lift the platform beneath, so the figure might fly?
Her youthful blush soon blanched to the color of ash -
she sensed his construction would end in a crash.
“By God’s mercy, how can you conceive such a thing?
What terrible repercussions are you trying to bring?
Man cannot bodily fly to the heavens, forsooth -
the Earth is our home, I tell you but truth!”
Leonardo gently grasped Cecelia’s soft hand.
Her skepticism hurt him; she failed to understand.
It was not a lack of vision in the future he saw,
rather her immediate detection of an underlying flaw.
He rose from his desk, and quickly turned her about.
“Perhaps you are right, let us take a walk and get out.”
She murmured a prayer to forget his foolish invention.
Their quiet stroll in the gardens released much of her tension.
Cecelia lifted her eyes to his and produced a wan smile.
“I’m sorry, dear one, forgiveness may take me a while.”
He loved Cecelia Gallerani - she meant more to him than life,
but as lady-in-waiting to the Duchess, she could not be his wife.
He treasured her steadfast presence, elegant demeanor, and quick mind -
another woman with her gifts would be problematic to find.
Leonardo wished to fulfill her deepest desires, yet was wary -
She had not reacted well to his armored Automa cavaliere.
Should he commission her a song, story, or mayhap a sonnet?
To provide her even a modicum of happiness, he would get right on it.
Abruptly she stopped, and lay her delicate hand on his chest.
“To be clear Leonardo, celibacy is not always what’s best.”