Seven linen shirts spun from nettles and sewn with blistered fingers.Seven white wings thrumming overhead, returning from winter wastes. Seven brothers searching for a blistered sister.Kim M. Russell, 25th April 2024 Image from Birmingham Museums Trust on Unsplash On the 25th day of Na/GloPoWriMo, I have no idea what the prompt is at NaPoWriMo as […]
Tag: Hans Christian Andersen
The Little Robber Girl
My response to Mindlovemisery’s Menagerie Fairy Tale Prompt When I was a child, I remember reading The Snow Queen by Hans Christian Andersen and wondering about the little robber girl who helped Gerda in her search for Kai, who had been lured away by the Snow Queen. One freezing, dark night in the middle of […]
The end of the tale of the wild swans
Stave 9 The nettle shirt reminded Elisa of the ten she must still knit For her eleven brothers; and the promise to keep her lips Sealed: the lips that smiled and kissed the hand of the king, Who embraced her and ordered bells to ring, Announcing a royal wedding: she was to be his queen. […]
The penultimate stave of The Wild Swans
Stave 8 Startled by an echo in the mountains, Barking dogs, hunting horns and guns, Elisa ran inside the cave and tied the nettles she had spun Into a bundle, upon which she sat down. The hunting hounds had sniffed her out, Leaping and barking all about. They were joined by hunters in a ring, […]
More of The Wild Swans
Stave 6 When Elisa awoke, they were far from land And so high in the air she thought she was dreaming, Until she found berries and roots in her hand, Gathered by her youngest brother. Far below them, a sailing ship floated, A white gull on the waves. They flew all day Ahead of a […]
The next stave of The Wild Swans
Stave 5 Elisa embraced each of her brothers, Calling out their names, laughing and crying, While they told about their wicked stepmother: How she had turned them into swans Only as long As the sun shone; At night they returned to human form, Finding firm ground At sundown Or they would fall from the sky […]
Fairy Tale Friday
The Wild Swans Stave 1 Far away across the water, Where swans migrate in winter, A king had eleven sons, Elisa was his only daughter, And they lived happily together Until he married an evil queen. During the wonderful wedding feast, She gave the royal children sand to eat And the very next day, She […]
The end of the fir tree’s tale
Stave 4 The next morning, The fir tree waited To be decorated, But it was dragged to the attic, Amongst trunks and boxes, With rats and mice for company. At first, the mice were friendly, Scurrying in and out of its branches, Listening to its stories. But eventually, they disappeared And the tree was all […]
The Fir Tree continues
Stave 3 By Christmas, The fir tree had grown Into such a dark green tree, It was first to be chopped down; The axe bit deep and keen And it toppled with a groan. On a horse-drawn sleigh, The tree was driven into town, To a house where servants in livery Carried it to […]
The next stave of The Fir Tree
Stave 2 In autumn The fir tree Trembled to see Woodcutters Chopping, The tallest trees Toppling To the ground With a groan And a crash. Stripped naked, They were loaded Onto wagons And driven away. In spring, the swallows returned And the stork appeared, Singing songs of oceans and ships With magnificent mast trees […]
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