How changed you are! My magic didn’t do it.
Some people shine as constant as the Dipper,
Or simply shatter, easily as a slipper;
Some shift from hard as glass to soft as suet.
Your clutch purse is again a day-old kipper,
Your ruff once more a sheaf of autumn leaves,
Your fan the bat that flaps about the eaves.
Oh, look!—Your fan just ate your purse. That chipper
And handsome prince, who whirled you round the floor,
Whose face was not too rough, but not too wan,
An eager raconteur, but not a bore,
Who smiled so charming on the silk divan—
At midnight, or a little bit before,
Can suddenly turn back into—a man.
Daniel Galef
Besides poetry, Daniel Galef also writes short stories (Sein und Werden, Bards and Sages Quarterly), humor (The American Bystander, the NationalLampoon.com), and plays (MainLine Theatre Montreal, Montreal Players’ Theatre). He is a displaced Oxford, Mississippian who teaches English and collects counterfeit coins.
Artwork: Caryn Drexl
Website: https://www.caryndrexl.com/
Gingerbread House Lit Mag 