he burned our shoes
the king our father
there in the hall
the doors thrown wide
the generals and the nobles
gathered to watch our shame

dragged from our beds
bare of foot and head
with only our blankets
and one another
to keep us warm

he burned our shoes
the king our father
offered us each as a prize
to his pet soldier

he took his time
medals glittering
pacing back and forth
inspecting us

when his eyes lit on her
i stepped between them
eyes downcast
i let the blanket slip
just a bit

she is the eldest of us
and certainly the wisest
and most skilled

it was she
after all
who found the door
and the trail through the trees
and the moon-bright palace
upon the dark lake

but she is not strong

i am

the attentions of
the king our father
have fallen on me
many times

i survived

i will survive
his pet soldier
too

until our sister
finds the door again
and the trail through the trees
to the moon-bright palace
upon the dark lake
and we dance
free

Rebecca Buchanan

---

Rebecca Buchanan is the editor of the Pagan literary ezine, Eternal Haunted Summer. She has been previously published, or has work forthcoming in Faerie Magazine, , Polu Texni, SilverBlade, Star*LIne, previously in Gingerbread House, and other venues.

Artwork:  Louis Janet, Poème de l’âme 13:  Rayons de soleil, 1854.

 

 

31 Jul This entry was published on July 31, 2019 at 12:02 am and is filed under 37 (July 2019), Poetry. Bookmark the permalink. Follow any comments here with the RSS feed for this post.