Once upon a time there is a lady
Who lives in a tower that’s covered in vines
Many years ago they grew
Through the cracks in the window
and crept inside.
Today the light is shining
Onto her canopy of silk and lace
And silhouetting the vines like veins
Casting thin shadows on her skin
They wrap around the bed
And twist overhead like a cage.
She wakes at dawn and sits
Stretches her arms, smiles
And puts her feet on the floor
A white blossom
brushes her hand as she stands.
“good morning.” She greets it
and plucks it from the stem
she goes to the window and, one petal at a time
she drops the vine’s gift the ground
where it falls at the feet of a knight.
He counts as she counts
And then begins to climb
Long after she’s left the sill.
Thinking still that she’s alone
She’s gone to wander the magic halls and
See where they lead her today
Her bare feet slap the grey stone
As she walks away from the bedroom.
Tiny flames in glass jars
Sit on the floor against the walls
Spaced unevenly throughout the hall
The shine on all but her face.
At the first door she stops trying to hear a sound
Then turns the key and enters
Inside the room is full of twilight.
And dragonflies fly around her
Outside the knight climbs the vine.
Nearby she can hear the crashing of waves
she catches a dragon then leaves
“too early for you.” She decides.
Still the night climbs.
The next doorway, where she stands now,
is the end of a pier
where the sun is rising.
She steps aboard a sailing ship
With rainbow sails
And finds her breakfast waiting.
“so its sailing today.” She sighs.
Still the knight climbs
Until the vines turn hot in his hands
His palms blister
And the poison runs up his arms
And he cries as it reaches his heart
And falls from the wall
Landing broken amidst the petals
Which he knows now have lied.
