THE UNFAIRLY TALE
First off, one must believe
Otherwise, what are fairy tales good for?
Fairies, witches, angels, and such
All go together for the willing.
Willing to take on a role
Not meant for you at all
Perhaps unfairy tales
Are best?
No pretense
Get down to the essence
The real meaning of the thing
Daily life as it might be meant to be
Days filled with sickness and death
No, you are not really appreciated until
you die
And then everyone says
What a wonderful person you were
They wished they had known you better
You and your little black cat
Sitting in the moonlight
Howling for evermore
Born a princess
Grew up a tomboy
Often found life too hard
Too hard to take seriously
One day at a time
One step the same
Now she has grown old
The stepmother in the tale
The mirror knows
But doesn’t say a word
The world is quiet around her
She waits, waiting for death
As it must come to us all
Be it morning, noon or nighttime
Death will be dressed in black
The same she always wears
You will know her
She is always faithful
Doesn’t forget you
Comes when called
I love this tale. I relate. We grow older. The story is different from what we ever dreamed, yet somehow more amazing. I love the lines of her sitting in the moonlight with her little cat howling for evermore. Again, I relate. I love this.
ReplyDeleteIt’s true, Annell, one must believe, even in unfairy tales and Death. Your poem resonated with me, especially:
ReplyDelete‘They wished they had known you better
You and your little black cat’
and
‘The mirror knows
But doesn’t say a word’.
'You and your little black cat
ReplyDeleteSitting in the moonlight
Howling for evermore'...It's as it were the essence of the poem : A lone journey towards the unknown. The lines will stay with me.
Yes the mirror speaks but says nothing - A journey into what we see and what is really there - Well done.
ReplyDelete"No pretense
ReplyDeleteGet down to the essence
The real meaning of the thing"
That, is brilliant!
Wow! These lines really got to me: "Now she has grown old/The stepmother in the tale/The mirror knows/But doesn’t say a word" -- alluding to Snow White, the stepmother's inevitable decline, "waiting for death." All in black. Recalling the presumed funerary eulogies, and the hard truth that "you are not really appreciated until you die." Each line falls in place at the right time in the right way. Just brilliant, Annell.
ReplyDeleteAnnell my goodness.. this left me breathless and eyes filled.. Every line hit home .. so absolutely wonderful and brutally real.. this IS why we need fairytales.. isn't it? Hugs!
ReplyDeleteThe mirror knows / But doesn’t say a word - love that...and "They wished they had known you better / You and your little black cat / Sitting in the moonlight / Howling for evermore - wow!
ReplyDelete