Fairy Tale Redacted
       

Once I was born in a place I do not recall.
The seashore, a peach blossom, an island of selkies.
Once I lost an arm and became part swan.
My brothers flew in circles in the sky.

My father the King lost my mother when I was young
and insisted on marrying me, so I fled
with only a fur coat, a gown of stars and a gown of sun,
as well as a magic ring. I hid inside tree trunks
and was taken in by monks. I didn't speak of it
for years. The prince fell in love with my soup.
It held all my secrets. We wed in a shower of gold.

My first child was born in an egg. My second child
a mermaid. They were taken and raised in secret.
The prince left me and I became a dragon.
I sing at night, flying around the city.
They say rage, I say morning.
The castle walls are not enough to stop me.

Every fairy tale is a tale of murder, of incest,
of things no one wants to see. A mother-in-law
full of poison, a father unsafe. a family that leaves its babies
in the woods. The lesson is carved into trees,
turned into stories of saints, murmured into the ears
of children until they become like psalms,
the sound of the sea, the rush of wings,
reminding us of secrets, of things unseen.

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Copyright © 2019 Jeannine Hall Gailey All rights reserved
from Redactions
Reprinted by Verse Daily® with permission