There once was a girl who wandered
From fairytale to fairytale,
Stumbling over zeitgeists
As she went.

I saw her only from the
Other side of the ocean
By which she wandered, and
Believed she longed to cross.

My influences were too
Classical and my poetry
Too prosaic for her, the girl
Surrounded by tradition
Against which she fought
Tirelessly in vain.

She tried to lure me into
A trap between the mountains
And the sea and the heavy
Summer sky with a
Siren’s song of longing.

I am closer to that than
I realised, dancing to the tunes
To which her ancestors courted.

As I think of that half mythical
Land, I wonder how far away
She got, and where her dreams
Will take her tonight.

One day, I hope to meet a
Contented, grounded woman, and
Apologise for the way I hurt
The girl who wanted to fly, but
Never opened her wings.

07/21/2009

Posted on 08/24/2009
Copyright © 2024 Richard Vince