A Fairytale. (Revised).

Crossing the steel bridge to the market
An ordinary girl, yet full of poems
Red in tooth and claw:

Unruly babies, not yet nurtured,
Already spitting fire, like dragons
Deep in her world, her womb,
The echoing shadows,
The darkness where, in the beginning
All of life is formed, articulated
In secret, all the lanterns out;

Here dwarfish gods
Make sacred swords
And birds speak plain to purblind heroes,
The seas are born, the Kraken roars,
The mountains fall apart.

Crossing the steel bridge to the market
An ordinary girl, her hair in ribbons,
Sings out raw poems to the crowds;
                                                                                    (The girl sings).
Come and buy                                                                          
Come and buy
You lost and lonely
Come and buy.

But no one would give her a well thumbed penny.
No one would give her a candid glance.                               
                                                                                   (The crowd reacts).
                                   
                        Her accent aint local. American? Perhaps she`s Polish?
                        An asylum seeker? A benefits cheat? - NAH,
                        Someone who slipped under the wire? More like.
                        Bet she`s a Gypsy. - A religious freak.
                        How dare she squawk those hard luck stories.
                        How dare she beg our hard earned pay.
                       Come away children! Move! Come on! Out of her way!

But all the children of Camden Town
Danced around her hand in hand,
Sharing their sweets with her and laughing,
Scorning their parents acrid anger.
And when she raised her old tin whistle
They heard a music no adult could hear,
The notes so high pitched they could have been silent,
The notes so sweet the Angels grew jealous.
And when she said it was time to come home
They danced with her over the bridge.


Trevor John Karsavin Potter.
September 21st. - 22nd. 2017.
November 14th. - 15th. 2017.
December 4th. 2017.