Exalted in Scarlet

The wind acts as herald,

as sharp as the sound of a hand clap

calling you to pay attention,

because the procession is about to begin.

Summer enjoys a few last tumbles,

as Autumn promenades onward

to the sound of cricket minstrels.

The swish of Autumn’s robes

is heard in the rustling of the leaves,

who have donned their festival colors

in honor of its arrival.

Autumn waves starlight trimmed sleeves
while the nights grow longer
and nature's din dims to
sighs and susurrations.

I can't help slowing down too,
swept up in the pageantry
of Autumn's regal progression.



Song Choice: Kamigama-Sama from Spirited Away

Molly Grue

I had rosy-cheeks and sparkling eyes

when I was eight years old.

I loved to dance, feeling the swirl

of imaginary gowns around my ankles.

I almost thought I saw you then,

until adult voices called me out

to tell me about chores left undone.

There was still gold in my hair at sixteen.

But I swayed to different songs,

all about moonlight promises that I knew

would evaporate faster than dew.

Did believing in you 

make me more gullible

to frivolous songs 

sung by unskilled bards?

I know that I tried not to believe,

as sixteen faded into the distance,

and gold turned the color of the dishwater

I had my hands in every day.

Disappointment makes an excellent whetstone

for a tongue that wants to hide a tender heart,

still moved by tales of legendary bandits, 

still intrigued by a magician’s words.

Then you arrived,

to fan the cinder of my belief,

when the bags under my eyes

were more noticeable than my lashes.

How could I not scream at you,

for all those times I needed wonder,

looked for it, and all I found

was the sound of my stubborn heartbeat?

Should I start believing again

when the world has almost convinced me

that faith is pointless,

and magic isn’t real?

But,

since the world has done an incomplete job,

I will try to trust 

in what my eyes see

and my heart knows,

and start dancing again. 

Still from the movie The Last Unicorn

Song Choice: Shake It Out by Florence and the Machine

Liner Notes for this Groove: This poem was inspired by a prompt (I came up with!) over at Imaginary Gardens With Real Toads: Sidekicks in the Spotlight. I based it on a character from the cult classic, The Last Unicorn. 

Stage Fright

Dad’s sweatshirt transforms into a velvet cape,

draped over my shoulders.

I flourish a stick I found in the yard

in front of an appreciative plush audience.

Passing it over a hat I found

for a quarter at a garage sale,

I conjure flying silk squares,

and moon white rabbits

that do somersaults,

and sing songs dryads taught them

back when the world had plenty of magic beans.

But when I bring my wand, hat, and cape

to the school talent show,

when I stand alone on the stage,

all that I find in my hat is rabbit poo.

Song Choice: Nothing  performed by Natalie Cortez from A Chorus Line

This poem was inspired by a prompt given over at Imaginary Gardens for Real Toads: Weekend Mini Challenge, Following a Thread