The Princess Who Knew Fire by Alexa Seidel
Smoke runs down my fingers like morning dew
my ball gown dervish-danced itself to ashes
round my flame-kissed ankles
that long for the axe’s touch
a heat that star-gold shower couldn’t sooth
My lips burn poison with apple kiss
and it is a spark of rose that pricked me into
one thousand years of fiery sleep
and vaporized my sheets with ardent longing
The oven is always hot for those who seek
a trail of crumbs or cinders such as I
and the well is always deep;
it swallows whole my golden fireball
‘What red hair you have!’
and searing heat that changes common desert sand
into quartz glass slippers, with molten tears
I can make your clouded eyes shine bright again
The warm taste of cinnamon wine burns on my tongue
shooting star wings and firefly breath
were my grandmother’s bequest
but the fire from my hands that makes smoke
of all it touches, that alone is mine
One Response to “The Princess Who Knew Fire by Alexa Seidel”
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Good poem… I can almost feel the warmth of the fire from the hand of this princess… the heat that turns the sand into glass slippers… Yet, I guess we authors must strive to create new characters, creatures? The classical like princesses, kings, elves, dwarfs, dragons, etc are already too ordinary? New characters like these I use in some of my works: weightless korks, fish-keepers, Brown faces, glowing, living balls, rock pieces, fiery men, etc. sound much more mysterious and make the story/poem more intriguing? Keep the good work going! Let the wonderful noise of the sea always sounds in your ears! (a greeting of the water dragons’ hunters – my Tale Of the Rock Pieces).