SPINNING WHEEL
Published by Pinch, 2019
Wearing my olive coat
I tell the trees, Listen
rain comes down in sheets.
I see the child’s face.
Her hair blows wild,
pink summer covers
her body, lives meld.
Visions accumulate
altering me. Still certain
honeybees disappear.
Keys I didn’t know
existed unlock curses
I’ve never read.
This girl turns one,
two, three, four.
How do the bubbles float
in my pond? Her questions
sit like halos above her.
Unwary of magic
we share borders
and nuzzle up close
to our story. Don’t worry
she says, the prince finds her
hidden in the woods—Is it real life?
I try not to see the veins
on my hand. My mother’s skin.
Suddenly in the kingdom
of dragons I answer, yes
I hate Maleficent. I hate
day’s quickening advance.