Fairy Tales
I lumbered 'long the lonely path
'Til I reached the forest dark,
I never smelled the flow'rs nor heard
The song of meadowlark.
I knew I had to find myself
Before the sun had set;
So many griefs and sorrows that
I just could not forget.
I know I wandered aimlessly,
Unaware of beast nor bird,
Immersed so deep within my self
And that was when I heard . . .
That cheeky little chuckle,
A chortle filled with cheer,
And, Lord, I couldn't help myself,
I grinned from ear to ear!
For I had found the fairy folk
Within the forest glade;
They were frolicking and singing, what
A joyous sound they made!
Pretending not to see me, though
I knew they were aware,
They twirled in gowns of taffeta,
Bright flowers in their hair.
Their little wings looked fragile as
They flitted to and fro;
They danced the dance of love and joy,
Their faces all aglow.
I sat upon the forest floor,
My grin grew ever wide;
Before too long a little one
Shyly approached my side.
She sprinkled me with fairy dust,
The others soon joined in,
Bright colors shimmered everywhere,
Soft wings caressed my skin.
Then, from the air surrounding me,
Came a familiar sound;
That cheeky little chuckle from
An elf upon the ground.
He said to me, 'Cast off your cares,
And place them at my feet.'
The pile became enormous and
I felt once more defeat.
And then the fairy songs began
As they circled 'round and 'round
And sprinkled fairy dust upon
My troubles on the ground.
The pile soon turned to colored dust
Which floated on the air,
Then filled the skies with colors bright,
There were rainbows everywhere.
My lids heavy, I drifted off
In rainbow-colored skies,
And then the wee elf chortled,
'Come now, open your eyes.'
And when I did I found 'twas night,
My burdens all were gone,
And I found that I was humming a
Strangely familiar song.
The forest glade was empty, not
A fairy could be seen;
Did fairies really frolic there?
Or were they just a dream?
My questions had no answers as
I rose, prepared to go.
Fairies? Elves? Or just a dream?
Perhaps I'll never know.
But OH! I felt so strangely light
'Neath the midsummer moon;
And from the wood I swore I heard
An old familiar tune!
© 2008 Linda Newman
(All rights reserved)
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