Throwback Thursday: Bride Gift, By Shannon Connor Winward



Editor's note: Shannon's poem intrigued me and that's what made it one of the October winners. Is it based on "The Princess and the Pea"? I think so. The description is certainly enticing. Addition, 2020: I still stand by my original point. And I would note that Shannon continues to build a stellar career. Here’s her eponymous blog.

 

Tithe every household a wagon of chaff

and a goose

bring me a ship of the finest linen

call up an army of seamstresses, weavers

and carters

woodsmen to fell the forest.

My Liege, employ the kingdom.

 

Bid them make the scaffolds mighty

(and sturdy)

let it rival the tallest castle spire

build me a tower

layer by layer

straw, ticking, down and silk.

 

Send your armada to escort me across the ocean

raise me up in a litter of gold

borne on the backs of champions

lay me down under a canopy of stars

and promise me Heaven.

 

I will give you my hand

my fidelity, benediction

coronation in the circle

of my arms

 

I will give you my body

sovereignty

in my hills and valleys

my flesh, my womb

I will give you sons

   and daughters

you will never be forgotten

nor forsaken.

 

I will give you solace

at day’s end

I will soothe your weary bones

forgive your sins, my dear one.

I will give you my heart

and a home

 

but first

you must pass

a simple test:

 

lie with me

in this tower of ambition

under the gaze of angels.

 

I will feel it

if you have hidden

even the smallest doubt

I will sense it

if your harbor

the merest kernel of a lie. 

 

Your thoughts

are as plain to me, my King

as the view from our marriage bed

the palm of the earth

open, her fingers

 

tickling the shore.

From here a boulder

is a pebble

a pea

Sire, lie with me

and if you do not love me

I will know.

 

***

Image is “Sleep,” by Simeon Solomon.

***

Shannon Connor Winward's poetry and fiction have appeared widely in such venues such as: Pedestal Magazine, Strange Horizons, Flash Fiction Online, Enchanted Conversation, Illumen, Ideomancer, and various anthologies.  Her poem, “All Souls’ Day” was nominated for a 2012 Rhysling Award.

A Queen's Discontent, By Marcia Sherman

Editor's note: This is a thorough mashup that had me identifying villainesses and other characters the whole time I read it. It also digs into that stepmother business rather effectively. As for the picture, well, there's no Lancelot in Marcia's poem, but I think the picture captures the mood of it rather nicely.

I will let you in on a secret.

Of course none of us have actually died.

That is all just written for dramatic effect.

It seems so much more -

Interesting,

Heartwarming,

Difficult,

To have a father raise a daughter.

Alone.

But we are all here.

All the mothers.

In the background,

Or on another estate.

Or in another, smaller, castle.

We all keep in touch.

And we meet at least once a year.

Queen and commoner alike.

Even that doe,

The one everybody thinks was shot.

And that clownfish.

In a bowl of course.

Those of us who live close enough,

Visit with one another quite often.

And we have more to do with the stories than anyone realizes.

Take for example that silly girl and Rumplestiltskin.

I can say that silly girl.

Because she married my son.

Do you really think, for one minute,

She was able to get out of that situation alone?

Do you really think, for even one second,

Her mother and I were going to let her take a chance

On giving up our first-born grandchild?

Pish, we were there to help her all along.

We did the "heavy lifting."

I would love to be able to tell the truth about that.

Who would believe me anyway,

After these hundreds of years of fairy tales.

Every so often someone new comes along.

Some little-known tale

Suddenly becomes popular.

Or gets modernized.

Thanks to Walt.

That brings something fresh

To the annual meeting.

But for the most part we just live in the shadows.

We keep the households

And the kingdoms running smoothly.

It does get a little lonely,

Husbands and families

Unable to acknowledge us publicly.

Makes you feel hemmed in.

Unappreciated.

Makes you want to blow off some steam.

So every five years or so we come here.

Across the pond.

Visit with Powhatan's wife.

Let our hair down.

So to speak.

Another silly girl, that Rapunzel.

Why, I would love another, thank you.

That is very charming of you.

And believe me I know something about charming.

Yes, we do age very well.

My room?

I would be enchanted to show you my room.

I am sharing, but the roommates are out shopping.

Something about shoes and mirrors and roses.

Just mind the spindle in the corner,

It is sharp.

"The Four Queens Find Lancelot Sleeping," by Frank Cadogan Cowper

Marcia A. Sherman is Mama to one perfect Rose.She writes for Llewellyn Publishing under the name of Emyme, has self-published the children's book The Splendid, Blended Family, and is writing the Great American Wiccan Novel.