
Through pools of silver fire
Across the sun rising inside the earth
Dark trees tremble in this mirror world
Rain soaked grass shadows the light breaking morning
Silent, alone, I dream of laughter
The clawed queen holds my voice
Bound in a golden hair she ripped from my head
I dare not speak in case the universe dissolves
The crystal slippers glitter
The queen's gift, the mark of possession
Stumbling forward, a hidden stone shatters the glass
Dark blood roses tangle across the sun
Feeding the earth with flowers seeded from pain
A cry, my first, breaks the silence
I kneel in the rainwater, gathering the fragments
Expecting sharp nails to tear my skin
Poisoned air to close up my throat

In the distance a scream and the snapping of talons
I am singing and walking with blood soaked feet
My words are stars carried on the morning
Sugared petals glowing in the sun
Mary Josefina Cade