Tuesday, November 9, 2010

Fairy Tale Conventions

We are the child
Stepping out into a world of danger

We are the guardians of the child
Watching the path

And although the answer is no
It's always, 'no'-

The child goes -
We go

All the way to the end
Because

When the road is bleak
And full of wolves

Someone must hold our hands

A..J. Ponder 


In the world of Fairy tales danger lurks around every corner, which of course only makes the journey more more irresistible.  This poem is for every child with whom I have walked that path into brilliant darkness.

For more fairytale poetry click here to my Fairytale Poetry Hub

6 comments:

  1. Very poignant and very truthful.

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  2. Have you read Marina Warner on fairy tales? Love it :-)

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  3. Cheers for the comments, but I'm sorry Helen, no, I haven't read any serious fairy tale analysis at all. Believe it or not this was a spin off from a failed writing exercise at a science fiction & fantasy convention that kind of got me thinking :)

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  4. Isn't it amazing what writing exercises uncover? I like the minimalist lines. Lovely.

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  5. This week's TP seems to feature hands and venturing into spaces and places that require careful accompanying. I've just been through one of the forests you describe in this poem, Alicia. A friend gave me a small box of sugared almonds to take with me - like the white pebbles that Hansel & Gretel used to mark their way back out of their forest to safe ground. It was a gesture that really made a difference, a lovely way of having my hand held. Even as adults, we need to feel a hand in ours from time to time? Thank you.

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  6. cheers Kathleen, yes writing excercises can be quite strangely productive when you least expect it :)

    & Claire, that's so cute about the sugared almonds. It just makes me want to wlk into that forest and leave a trail - so I can eat them on the way back!

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