Cinderella, Cinderella! Poem by Denis Martindale

Behold the beauteous maiden... ill-fitted to those rags...
And quite often heavy laden... as on and on life drags...
Yet despite her heart now broken... by others and their spite,
All her sighs were gently spoken... though she still prayed each night...

For sorrows had not crushed her soul... nor tempered female dreams...
Nor overcome her self-control... as others planned their schemes...
She scrubbed the floors, watched others smile... and took life in her stride...
As if she sought to pass each trial... with gratitude not pride...

For she was not the owner here... and that she knew full well...
The others made that crystal clear... what more was there to tell?
But Fate is known to intervene... to lend a helping hand...
Arranging things as yet unseen... with purposes still planned...

And so it was, one night love came... when she went to a ball...
The Prince's heart no more the same... she was his miracle...
When found at home, his heart was glad... his love he could not hide...
With Cinderella no more sad... the day she was his bride...


Denis Martindale March 2019.