Editor’s note: What a magical, mystical wife and her husband. Each is odd to the other, perhaps, but they are well suited. Love the garden imagery! There is a mystery in this poem, as well, and I can’t quite figure out what it is, but it’s fun to ponder. As for the theme? I think they heal each other through magic and music. (KW)
Where have you been my dear?
He hung his coat by the fire.
I came in and could not find you here?
She smiled, held up a basket of greens and said
I was gathering herbs, sweetheart
so dinner may start,
see! Potatoes and leeks,
and water fresh from the creek,
and acorns for cakes and bread.
She hung up her cloak
and beneath, saw her dress embroidered in wild baroque
of leaves and beasts
and shaking raindrops from her hair,
set the table for a feast.
Why is there mud on your hems, my dear?
And your fingers green as stems?
I was in the garden, darling.
Talking to the flowers
and lost track of the hours
for it won't be long until they wilt and woe
and the vegetables it will be time to sow
and I disliked seeing them so saddened.
He watched her stoke the fire
and could only admire
the way she skipped and turned,
while wondering at the vigor
in which she stirred and stirred.
Then why is your smile so wide?
He asked, noting the wildness in her eye.
Why are your eyes so bright?
She smiled. Well, I came upon the window
there,
and when I saw your face in the glass,
I thought myself a lucky lass
to have caught such a fellow.
He smiled at his strange little wife
with her magical zest for life,
set down his hunter's pack,
pulled out his fiddle and played the strings,
watched her dip and twist and twirl as from her back
sprouted wings.
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Bio: Lauren E Reynolds goes through life with a wonder in her heart, a story in her smile and a colorful collection of costume dresses and boots. She is a children’s librarian, and freelance writer. She has been writing since she was a child, and has had her work published in Truancy and Cirsova Magazines, and the anthologies Under the Full Moon’s Light and Hidden Menagerie.
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Image from Pixabay.
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