From a small self-published book of poems written during my time in college, here is one about a girl I wish I could have been:
TATTERDEMALION
With a trailing hem of Valencienes lace
safety-pinned upon her ruffled skirt,
Kelsey dances among the willow trees
at the bottom of the garden.
She sings falsetto, See me,
See me not, jingling necklaces
of silver bells, sea glass, and
fallen stars draped in heaps
against her slender neck.
Her old boots with holes
in the soles lie discarded,
home to infant mice
beside the quiet stream.
Hear me, Hear me not,
sparrow feathers and spiderwebs
her tiara, precious gems
in moonlight. Kelsey reaches
for the bitter stars, and they come,
the fairfolk, to dance with her.
She feels the chill emptiness
within their green eyes
and silk, Touch me, Touch me
not, red curls flying in the dance.
Kelsey wears a quilt of satin patches
for her shawl, the names
of the gods embroidered
across the blue squares,
and the goddesses
upon the lavender-mint.
Speak of me in your dreams,
she sings to those who live
amongst the clouds, speak of me
to the waifs and strays,
those who dance
across the night.