There Was A Princess With Ebony Hair Visited By A Witch Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

[to my mother]

she poured tea and let it slip
pretending to trip
so that you were scalded

or would have been
had the little birds not been
your friends and distracted her.

and out of this we make
for entertainment on a rainy day
our song, our sweet romance our

little play when we are young
too young to know yet
how real these fairy tale scenes

can be.
the apple glow infused from a poison irresistible.
and then, the long and choric sleep.

and out of the deep so much farther down the road
these words come back to us
so that we may beware the poisoned combs

and braid the hair more simply.
and fasten the shutters greening in the rains.
and turn the lock

and pray.

mary angela douglas 19 january 2016