The miller’s daughter looked confused.
“I’m sorry?”
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”
She eyed the stranger conspicuously,
“I beg your pardon?”
She saw how he looked at her first-born.
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”
She moved her body between him and the child.
“Have we met before?”
He moved so he could see the child again.
She noticed a streak of gold in his hair.
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”
She sniffed the air.
“Please leave these premises immediately.”
It was the smell of warm sunny days.
It was the smell of impossible demands.
It was the smell of wonders against all odds.
“You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.”
She stared hard into his eyes
“Take me with you”.
He looked surprised.
She smiled.
She took her baby and packed her bags.
She handed him a book.
“Your name is Rumpelstiltskin
Please turn to the last page.
We will live happily ever after”
Day 14 of #OctPoWriMo. This poem is based on a these beautiful sentences by Adrienne Rich: You must write, and read, as if your life depended on it.
I love the fun in this and how you used the quote. I love the repetition.
Thank you! I had fun writing it 🙂
What a great take on the prompt and a fine surprise ending.
http://poetryofthenetherworld.blogspot.com/2014/10/octpowrimo-2014-day-14.html
Thank you morellalamuerte! I followed the link to your poem, that also ended in an unexpected way. Beautiful writing.
I love the twist in this!
Thanks Michelle! If you click on Cinderella, the lost version in the menu of my blog, you’ll find another twisted fairytale. And I have a poem called Snorting beauty… I like to play with fairytales and see where they can take me.
Beautiful. It turns Adrienne into a fairy godmother of sorts. She is, actually… this simply makes her moreso! Great work!
Thank you Julie, that’s beautiful praise. I’m happy you like it!
Rumpel’s being nice in your poem. The original was a creepy, wicked sort, as I recall. Nicely done though – felt very fairytale-like and not-quite-real.
Nah, he wasn’t nice, she rewrote the story 🙂 She needed to get away from that twat of a king who forced her to spin gold in the first place.
I like the whimsical feeling this poem evoked,. So fun.
Whimsical is a beaut of a word. Thank you!
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