Once upon a time there was
an armless maiden with
butterflies blurring her vision.

Like a prayer journal they
fluttered around, a crown
of acolytes offering
whispers of wisdom.

And the maiden would
stroll to the garden green
in front of a small stone altar.

Acknowledging with bows,
Black Maria in prayer,
stepping through the
fact of a doorframe.

It was the way of the mystics
that held her stare
through trembling wings
encircling her hair.

And when rains came
she refused to concede.
Perverse winter storms
avowed never to retire.

As waters rose higher,
she embraced the rushing.
Engulfing the maiden,
the butterflies drowned in
tears falling down as
they entangled to become one,
now the woman hollering creek.

.

.

.

Author’s Notes:

So this evening I wanted to play at something fun. A bit of found poetry seemed to be the answer. So I looked through my bookshelf and wrote a list of books that caught my eye:

The Armless Maiden, edited by Terri Windling
A Prayer Journal, by Flannery O’Connor
Acolytes, by Nikki Giovanni
Black Maria, by Kevin Young
The Fact of a Door Frame, by Andrienne Rich
The Way of the Mystics, by John Michael Talbot
Woman Hollering Creek, by Sandra Cisneros

And a fairytale was born. Fun.

This actually seems to be the genesis story of the very beginnings of a character I birthed a few years ago. Hmmm…might be time for a visti.