Friday, March 31, 2023

If I were in a fairy tale.

 If I were in a fairy tale,

full of fair princesses and castles,

i’d choose to be the witch, 

who lived by herself in the forest

and didn't ask to be bothered by woodsmen and children.


I’d have foxes and owls, wolves and cats,

bats in the rafters

squirrels in casements,

wildflowers and ancient trees

whose roots in gnarly, chaotic 

abandonment, circle round, round, around

keeping the without, out. 



through gossipy folk,

everyone will hear

about the cranky woman in the woods

who with her scowl

the curl of her lips

and the wildness of her hair

must surely be too far gone

for them to save, to civilise.



And in my cottage i’ll laugh

or is it cackle?

as i sink in deep into my rocking chair

a mug of steaming secrets in my hand,

reading a book of unwritten tales

as my owls hoot at the moon. 





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