[Laika]: 661.Contest Entries.Concerti.March 07 - Innocence

In search of a childhood lost

1st movement - Princess

in this house she has mermaid's feet
between these windows
she has no voice

she sneaks past the door, heels bleeding
do not disturb, sister is asleep
lace curtains and silk sheets in her chamber

in dreams sister is a rose and white
the kind that princes like
do not disturb, sister is asleep
for a hundred years or at least until sunset

in this house she is mute
silent so the spell won't break


2nd movement - In April

my boy with pale hair
painted wings for light
shook off the dust from fingertips and took
my hand

he let me hold, I held
that hand like a stream is held
carefully, on the edges

my boy with skin so bright, sparkled and shone so
that I couldn't touch it, I couldn't -

my boy, mine
ran in forests all night
gathered hay in vases

he said that nobody ever, that never for real
and if I dared ask if I was anybody
his jaw moved, barely

     then there was spring
     I stroked his ribs and got to
     kiss the air
     above his lips

he still lies where I left him, my fair boy
there he lies still


3rd movement - Toy chest

light blue
painted wood, no splinters
on tiny fingers

the lid is creaky
daddy said he'll oil the hinches
next year

black eyes in the dusk
shining
hand meets soft fur
sheepskin and polyester

and books! worn out from all the reading, covers
faded almost invisible
it's a little girl, pigtails and a puppy
if you listen really carefully
they're telling
fairytales

for dolls made of old clothes, they tell
how every year in the silver castle
a ball! cotton balls and gold paper
in the hem of a cheap dress
maybe this year you will be the princess

letters in the sides of the building blocks
spell out your name with them
and you'll know again
who you are

like when the sun was shining and
the air was filled with soap bubbles