Jean Valjean Poem by Justin Reamer

I am Jean Valjean,
A former thief
And a former scoundrel
Who has become a benefactor
Of someone very dear to me.

I was once a young man,
For I was born as all humans are,
And when I was twenty years old,
I lived with my sister and her children.
I helped her take care of them
When after my brother-in-law,
Her husband,
Had passed away.
I was a humble tree-cutter,
And I made a decent wage.
I enjoyed what I did,
But it was not enough to support my sister's family.
That is, her children.

I never knew love when I was young,
For I always looked out for my nephews
And my nieces,
For they were my family,
And I wanted them to survive.
It seems now,
When I think of it,
I never had time for love,
For I was so busy trying to help my family.

Yet, there was one winter in which
I could find no work,
For there were no trees to cut,
And my sister and her children,
And even I,
Were all starving to death,
That the cold ate at our hands and feet,
And found us utterly delectable,
And Death was making his mark on us,
With his scythe in his hand,
Making a little ‘X' on all
Of my nephews' and nieces' foreheads,
Where he would soon cut their throats
Like farmers do on the Harvest Moon.

Yet, I was desperate,
For I tried to beg,
And I tried to find food,
But I found nothing.
One time, I walked past
A baker's window,
Where I saw a loaf of bread sitting
In the window.
I was so desperate that I broke
The glass with my bare hands
And ran off with it,
Stealing it, essentially,
Where I could feed it to my children.

Yet, I was arrested by gendarmes,
And I went to the Assizes to face a trial,
And the judge sentenced me to the galleys,
Five years' imprisonment.
The year was 1796.

I went to the prison,
And I mourned my fate,
For I would not be able to feed the little children,
Yet all of the prisoners looked at me,
Cynically examining me with their eyes,
Saying,
‘This man is a fool;
He is too soft.
But one day,
He will become one of us,
After being hardened for so many years.'

I was soft at first,
That was true,
But my heart became hard.
I tried to escape many times during
My sentence as a convict,
But each time I was caught,
And spent more time in the rotten galleys.
I became a beast,
Cursing humanity for all that it did,
Especially when Napoleon
Rode in his grandiose chariot,
And when King Louis XVII
Took back his throne and
Lived in gallantry and luxury,
And when King Louix XVIII
Took the throne after his father's death,
And took no pity on the prisoners locked
Up in the galleys.
I spent 19 years in the prison,
And it was hard.

During that time,
I became literate,
For I taught myself how to read and write,
And could formulate letters,
Write letters and epistles,
Write essays and the like,
All in very neat, legible, and fluent French.
Yet, I was bitter,
For I had become a beast,
A misanthrope,
A dragon in the night.
I had once been a lamb,
An angel,
A dove,
But became a dragon,
Whose fire breathed from his nostrils,
Whose fangs shot out from his face,
And bore them at those who
Angered him,
And who hissed at everyone
Who intended him harm.
I was a dragon,
The Dragon,
The daemon of the night.
I was no longer the lamb I had once been.

After 19 years,
I was set free,
And I was forced to carry a yellow passport with me,
Which claimed I was ‘a very dangerous man, '
For I was an ex-convict, a thief, and a bandit,
As Javert calls me,
And I am not to be trusted.

As I set out for my freedom,
Carrying my yellow passport,
I eventually arrived at Digne,
Where I had been walking for many days on end.
I then tried to seek lodgings and
Some food and some employment.
First, I tried the inn,
But they would not let me stay
Because of my yellow passport.
Then I tried some citizens who lived nearby,
But they drew a gun and backed away in fear,
For I had a yellow passport.
Then I arrived at the wretched Church,
For God had ruined my life,
And I did not want to go in there
Because God was the one who set
Me to be like this,
And He caused my misery.

Yet, I headed in,
And I met the Bishop,
Monseigneur Bienvenue,
Who accepted me.
I stayed with him,
And I then stole his dishes.
I eventually was caught by
The gendarmes,
And they brought me to him,
But the Bishop forgave me,
And I was set free.
He told me he saved my soul.

I then set out on my own,
And I met Little Germain,
And there, I stole his coin,
But I eventually
Changed on the inside,
And I tried to give it back.
So, I became Monsieur Madeleine,
The head of a company at
Montfermeil-sur-Mer,
Where I hired many people,
As long as they were honest men.

They eventually elected me mayor,
Monsieur le Maire of M.-sur-M.,
Where I helped many people,
And tried the best I can.

I then saved Fauchelevent,
Who was crushed by his wagon,
And I then met Fantine,
Who was on the streets because of me,
For I saved her from Javert,
The man who knew me from the galleys,
And the police officer,
And I knew she was sick,
So I tried to take care of her.

Yet, Javert tried to resign,
Because of a man named Chompmathieu,
A man who was accused of being me,
And I told him I would not accept,
For it was not my place.

Then I went to Chompmathieu's hearing,
And I told the court the truth,
And I prevented the man from going
To the galleys,
Where he would have been put to life.

Now, Javert knew my identity,
And so I tried to help Fantine,
But he eventually killed her
Out of spite and cruelty.
So, I ran from him,
And I went to Montfermeil
To save Fantine's daughter,
Cosette, the Lark,
From the evil Thenardiers,
As I had promised her before she died.

I eventually saved Cosette,
And I took her into my arms,
And we had temporary lodgings,
And I acted as a father to her.
I ran away from the Thenardiers,
And we were safe at last,
Or at least for the time being,
And we were fine,
And everything was okay,
Until I met Javert again.

When Javert found me,
We ran for our lives,
Cosette and me,
For we went and ran,
And eventually found sanctuary
In the convent in Paris.

We ran into the convent,
And I met Fauchelevent,
Who helped me get a job,
And protect Cosette
From the Thenardiers
And me from Javert
And his dogs.

I was safe from Javert,
And Cosette lived happily,
For she learned many things,
And she became happy,
As well.

Then I realised Cosette
Was growing older,
And so I decided it would
Not be right if she could not
Choose life over the convent,
Even though I was happy there,
So we moved to Paris,
And we lived there for a long time,
And eventually,
We lived there to help the poor,
And we lived there in poverty
To do the right thing,
As always.

Cosette and I would take walks
Every day down to the Rue de Luxembourg,
And we would talk and marvel at life,
For I enjoyed it because I was a father to her.
Yet, Cosette became prettier,
And this worried me a lot,
For then she began to fall in love,
With a man named Marius,
Who stalked her,
And made me move,
Because I would not lose my daughter.

We then went to help people
Named Jondrette,
And I then went alone,
And they trapped me,
But I got away,
Safely from the police,
And I lived in safety,
And I soon continued to live.

I then began leaving the house
Time and time again,
Helping the poor and meditating,
And everything like that,
And, yes, I helped Cosette whenever she needed me,
So that I did without complaint,
Yet, I knew there was something amok,
When I came back one day.

I soon found out that Cosette was in love with Marius,
And I was soon devastated,
I could not believe my eyes,
For I had lost the girl I loved most,
But then the Lord said to me,
‘You wanted the best for her,
And you wanted her to make a decision.
She will always love you,
But you should let her live her life.'
With that, I was redeemed,
And inspired at the same time,
And I told Cosette what I wanted for her,
So I let her take Marius' hand.
Eventually, Javert found me,
So I had to take flight,
And I hid many days,
Until Javert killed himself,
And I was free at last.

I then visited Cosette and Marius,
When they were newlyweds,
And I was happy to see them happy,
And I must say I am happy today.
As I write this,
I am going to die of old age,
For I wait in my bed,
And my life was a life well-lived,
And that I will admit,
And now, I will be joining my
Heavenly Father in His kingdom,
For I am Jean Valjean,
And an ex-convict, thief, and bandit
No more.