Most beloved Yvonne, thank you so much! What a terrific surprise When I arrived in our group, “Magical Circle of Friends,” to put up links to meditations tonight!
You have taken in, and so beautifully expressed, the essence of this poem. I hope it will help the listener/ reader to get a sense of my relationship with my unusual father, Irving Fiske—writer, playwright, inventor, speaker, philosopher, and Co-creator of Quarry Hill Creative Center, our home, which was ever-open to “the newcomer” (as Irving often said) in Vermont.
This poem takes place in our other home, Still Lake in the Ocala Forest in Florida. In this peaceful, semi-wild place, Irving most truly was himself, entertaining visitors and “orchestrating” human interaction, though not in an authoritarian way. He created a lot of laughter and joy here, for the most part through his appreciation of other people.
He often compared himself to Prospero, Shakespeare’s wizard, and me to Miranda ( her name means “wonder,”) Prospero’s daughter. We were solitary together for a while when I was a very young child and my mother left for six weeks, an uncertain time for all of us. At this time, Irving and I bonded in a special relationship with each other. In “The Tempest,” Shakespeare’s last play, Prospero, the Duke of Milan and his little daughter Miranda are set afloat on the ocean in a rickety boat by his enemies.. She is only three years old, a few months older than I was when my mother left & my father and I were alone together. Prospero attributes his emotional survival of the ocean to the smiles and playfulness of his little daughter. Then they reach the shore of the magic Island, and except for the spirits, are alone there together till Miranda is 15, just the age I was when I first met other young people, my age in New York City. Voyagers come to the magic isle and are swept up in a storm created by Prospero. Seeing their ship caught in “the tempest,” Miranda feels compassion for them. Prospero assures her it is not a real storm and the people in it are safe.
Then Ferdinand, a handsome young man who had been on the ship with his father ( Prospero’s brother and enemy) comes to their dwelling…and he and Miranda fall in love.
Our life in Florida was not dissimilar.
“The Tempest” was Irving’s favorite play by Shakespeare.
As. you know, I’m writing a book about my life with and without my family. My mother, Barbara, came back to Irving and me and had another child, my brother William. I hope I will be able to tell more of the tale in the memoir.
In this poem, I attempt to weave together
the legend of Miranda and Prospero and the real-life experience of myself and my father, and others. Irving was known to many as The Forest Wizard.
Dearest Yvonne, thank you, bless you, and love you always! Thanks to you, to your husband, Brian, and my appreciation to both of you.🩷💕🦜❤️i love you!
I’m very grateful to everyone for your lovely and appreciative reviews! 🙏🏻💕love you Yvonne ❤️🌙
