They flocked to her in droves
“Cinderella,” they called.
Their ardor, canned heat.
“Give us a glance
from your golden drapes.
Come, be our Poppy Girl.
Let’s worship the comet sky.
Look there, the stars shine
on the tips of your glass slippers.”
Ah, so many Cinderella
men of sparks and air
chanting coy promises
catching stardust on their fingers.
And again, they came
through the fruit orchards
of hobgoblins,
“Rapunzerella, let down your
golden hair.”
Cinderella, that confused enchanted girl
twirled her golden strands
shined her glass slippers
then spun the wheel of fate and fantasy
for coy boys
into the brittle, golden hours
days running long into the night.
Jagged stars, see how they shine?
Men of airy promises
poured through the atmosphere
like toxic rain.
Castle walls soon become crypts
of truth.
Mazes of the millennium close.
Plath whispers from
the silvery, sorrowful distance
and Cinderella heeds the call
rises above them
in sublime flourish
these callous men of air.
I love this, Lana: “Men of airy promises / poured through the atmosphere / like toxic rain.” We need down-to-earth guys, wearers of monkey pajamas! 🙂
For sure Joan! We need those wearers of monkey pajamas, those who sneak to the refrigerator in the middle of the night and eat all the gouda cheese slices and drip watermelon juice on the floor. Those are the ones we need! 😀
Wow. Lana. How powerful and angry and sad, and so evocative. There was a younger time in my life when I was a Cinderella falling for those coy men of air. It’s was a grand day when I smashed those glass slippers.
Yes, hats off to all the girls that smash those glass slippers! Thanks so much. xx
Wow, so much here Lana. Progress, regress, norms – a smorgasbord of emotion and provocative thoughts. 🙂
There is quite a bit on this plate for sure, Debby. Thanks so much for reading and for your kind words! xx
<3
Excellent writing Lana. There are many with airy thoughts and callous traits. Their value will eventually depreciate. Unfortunately many princesses will be left in the dust. I’m glad the slippers made of glass can be easily broken instead of heavy metal that stays for long term.
Thank you so much. Yes, sadly there are many out there. Some princesses must learn the hard way. Thank you also for visiting my blog!
My pleasure. Enjoying your posts. 🙂
Brilliantly described! I love the subtle alteration of tone and the slightly cynical twist. Can I reblog this?
Thanks so much, and yes you can!
Have done! 🙂
Thank you!
Reblogged this on Frederick Anderson and commented:
I really, really like this poem – I hope you will, too…
Wow! This one has it all! There’s so much going on here and my mind spins from all the images your words evoke in my head, with those glass slippers twirling on top of it! ❤
There is a bit going on there, haha. I’ve been veering off and practicing some experimental forms when I can. I’ve been so inundated with teaching that I rarely write anymore. I don’t know where the hours go. I hope you are doing well, Sarah. I’ve got to get over to your blog to see if you’ve crafted any lovely things lately. xoxo
It´s been a bit of the same here, not much creativity going on at the moment either. Ah well, that´s life, I´m sure we´ll both get back on our horses soon enough. 😉
Have a beautiful weekend, Lana! Hugs! xoxo