Gretel (Conent Warning: Disturbing Image)
Every day, I feed him,
Press the meat into his palm,
Urging milk against his lips,
But every day a dryer bone,
My little brother, how I thought...
--------
Someday, when she is foolish,
I will play fool,
I who meant to be wise.
Someday when she is foolish
I will burn the kindling to a blaze
With the tinderbox of my hateful eyes.
--------
Every day a dryer bone,
Little brother your lips are colder,
Sometimes, it's like they've shrivelled up
It's like the shiver of your tooth
I press my milk unto them
Every day dryer
Every day
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Someday, I will open up her boxes,
Someday, now that she is always sleeping,
Someday I will open up her boxes
And, I'll wrap you up in my arms,
And carry you to papa
With an apron full of pearls.
I will open up the gumdrop door
And cross the river on a white duck
With the shining light of the witch's own wand.
With the wand, and my little Hansel,
And the Duck's white back.
------
Every day a dryer bone,
Each dessicating year and month and hour,
Alone now, but for you,
My milk has shrivelled up, though I have grown,
And aged,
And withered back again,
And iced the shingles,
Tidied up.
Do you feel lonely too?
Poor little Hansel,
Little boys need playmates -
Shall I find you one?
The wind is cold and smells of rain,
I've heated up my oven,
And the smell of ginger races through the woods...
(Image by Miwa Yanagi, a japanese artist, who has a series of similar images at the site indicated)
3 comments:
Have you read Anne Sexton's Transformations? I'm asking because your poem reminded me of it. (Not that the voice is similar, just the themes/fairy tale inspiration).
I have not read Transformations, but I'm shocked and flattered to be compared to Ms Sexton. Thanks, Ms Nymeth, you made my day :) - I usually don't get comments on my poems at all, much less such nice ones!
In terms of fairy tale poetry, I love Goblin Market, which probably informs my writing (not that I can write anything similar to it :P), and then Robert Browning's writing. But I don't know, I'm really not a professional, I've never studied poetry (reading or writing) in school at all, really, except for one meaningless one semester class, and the stuff you have to read in High School. So I'm not clever enough to really say where things come from. :)
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