Saturday, March 30, 2013

Sleeping beauty




Beauty lies deathly pale in her sleep,
Forgotten by apple trees & lovers on the hill
Winter keeps a close guard over her tiny frame,
Her skin so white, with hair of darkest night-  
Her lips so red, bewitched by 
summer's end-

One April day, he walks into the forest
The sun greets him like a reluctant flame  
Melting the veil of secrets, capturing his eyes- 
He comes close and kisses Beauty's lips,   
so cold like ice- 

Beneath his fierce embrace,  
She takes her first breath, coming  
Alive with the softest shade of pink -
The wood trembles, like a tide turning
In mid-stream, her eyes awake, so blue,
the anguish of a storm- 

Then, she heaves again, failing
Like a weary bloom, deadly is the frosty 
Wind that bites on delicate skin, 
Color of an unripened apple,
too early, too soon - 

He could not awaken her -
Not with words nor songs from the robins-   
So he places white tulips & pine cones 
On her chest, and tuck back her long hair.   
Shutting down the coffin, he leaves the forest,
A lonely traveler, perplexed with 
false spring - 


Posted for D'verse Poets Pub and Imaginary Garden for Real Toads - Happy Easter ~
Shared with Poets United Picture credit:   here 

55 comments:

  1. awww...you break my heart in the end there..a false spring...its reality around here...though it is beautiful today...and planned to be freezing tomorrow. go figure...ha....really nicely told grace...

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    1. False spring applies to the garden, sad those early blooms die so quickly ~ Thanks for the visit Brian ~

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  2. just lovely Grace; hopw you have a Happy and blessed Easter:)

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    1. Thank you Gloria ~ Have a good Easter too ~

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  3. oh heck..def. a felt piece...the hope...the disappointment.. the frost wind that bites on delicate skin..makes me think of the blossoms i saw on a walk that already poked out their head and didn't survive the wind and frost..we have the coldest march in 130 years here....i so hope for spring

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    1. Yes, we have some of those buds fading back again ~ Thanks for the visit Claudia ~

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  4. This is wonderful, Grace. I loved how you used the sleeping beauty theme and gave it a unique flow. I am sorry he could not awaken her YET. The last stanza, with the false spring, is heartbreakingly creative. All of our snow has not yet melted, but day by day it flows away. Happy Easter to you.

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    1. not YET but hopefully very soon, the sleeping beauty will wake up ~ Thanks for the prompt Mary ~

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  5. That alternative reality of a "false spring" is so chilling! Like a twist on the Romeo and Juliet story with Winter bearing the feud of the Montagues and Capulets!

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    1. I like that idea of a feud ~ Thanks Gemma ~

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  6. This is heartbreaking, those last three stanzas are breathtaking, awakened too soon...gosh... a beautiful tale.

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  7. Geez, not going all happy ending at your sea, but that is a nice change of pace to see. But maybe one day he will then can get a Heaven type thrill lol

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  8. So sad, and yet she could still be true yet...

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    1. Yes, she could still be true yet ~ Thank you ~

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  9. ooops, he forgot to kiss her...maybe that would have worked

    Cinderella Limerick

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  10. Awesome write! I was mesmerized and completely emersed in the story! Nice one, Grace!

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  11. Ohhhh, Grace. So well done. False spring and bitter hope.

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  12. Very spooky - and also very real - the way Spring comes and fades and comes again. Well done. k.

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  13. Wonderfully done, Grace. Sad that he was unable to awaken her. Love that "false spring" at the end.

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  14. ...i don't know how it really feels to have winter nor spring but your words are helping me understand the real feeling/s to have such... in this poem i can sense the thirst & long anticipation for spring... the disappointment of overdue delays... ah, whose righteous kiss can wake this sleeping beauty... this is really wonderful Grace though sad to read a yet false spring in the end... smiles... happy easter...

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  15. A sad ending but I from your beautiful imagery I still sense that the right prince is on his way (hopefully with some EMTs as well hehe)

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  16. A false spring...that does break the heart. Such beautiful imagery.

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  17. Oh God ... this really touched my heart ... a sad story of the lonesome traveller ... truly deep emotions out there !!!

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  18. Oh a false spring, so chillingly well done.

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  19. I've seen many a false spring, both in weather and in life. Never thought I'd find the real thing, but I did!
    I like the style of this poem very much.

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  20. I love the personification you have used, and it all swoops in to a grand finale with the images of the last stanza. Lovely work.

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  21. When I once slept, I was but a child then, and I would not rouse for the day my father simply turned the bed over. I am now wearing T shirts, no jacket and forcing the winter away from me. The same as my father once forced sleep from me.

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  22. Wow, fantastic twist -- totally took me off guard. Harsh realism. Sadly, it reminded me of unsuccessful resuscitations I have done on patients in our Emergency Department -- that breath but then eventual failure. Live sometimes returns but won't hold on. Ouch

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  23. I recognized exactly where this went. Clever! How many more false springs until Sleeping Beauty - any beauty - returns to us!? Nicely written.

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  24. I agree with Kerry and her view with that 'personi' thingy. Yes, Spring has teased us like that this year.

    Wonderful depiction, Grace

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  25. Grace, this is sensational; it's so beautifully written and so poignant.

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  26. Grace..waiting on the verge of spring with hope of awakening..Happy Easter..

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  27. Beauty with a perfect chill in its tail.

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  28. I love the ending! Well done, Grace!

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  29. Beautiful and sad.

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  30. Oh, such a beautifully written piece, Grace! Sadly, he couldn't wake her up in the end. The last para is so touching...yet,so exquisite!

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  31. Wow Grace, you sure know how to respond to a prompt. I love your version of this story. A sad ending, but so beautifully written. You're so talented.

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  32. False spring. This is a wonderful twist and I had a potted flower I bought too soon and forgot to bring in one cold night not long ago. It died. This is stunningly beautiful!

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  33. I like the way this works as a narrative and you allow the sadness to creep into the last two verses. It's very well paced.

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  34. An absolutely amazing write, Grace. I love it.
    K

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  35. mmm luscious. I never tire of this tale... and your twist on the ending is just as magical. Truly graceful imagery.

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  36. Hi Grace, you write so eloquently--I was enjoying the colors, textures, senses and so sad, yet an excellent twist and false spring is rough on those flowers ;-)

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  37. Oh the poor prince - I wasn't expecting your ending! Onward to more travels and real spring!

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  38. a sweetheart dreamer can only work your magic ~ all encompassing beauty !

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  39. As always, I'm blown away by the beauty of your language. And I love the way you tell the story.

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  40. oh sad..very poignant, soft and graceful!! esp the closing lines!

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  41. Fairy tale turned tragedy, I am really impressed with your imagery and wording, fantastic.

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  42. A beautiful telling of that which takes place in many a garden... and bedroom.

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