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Fairytale Games

 Sharing with The Sunday Muse #227. 


I was sick that week, 
muffled and sore-throated.
We tore those pages 
out of Mom's British magazines 
in a frenzy of making up 
a game of fairy chess:
tile floors full of supermodels,
expensive dogs, perfume bottles,
gardens, and real royalty.
No jumping, no war. 
Just tense tea times,
lost gardens and wise dogs
leading to the Ball.
Would you find your way
with a tux-suited man
or a tartan-collared dog? 
I don't remember the rules,
the music, the endless tissues...
just Mom handing over the scissors
and watching me carve pictures
into fairytale games.

-- Chrissa

Comments

  1. HelenSeptember 10, 2022 at 1:52 PM

    Precious poetry, Chrissa. My sisters and I played paper dolls endlessly, no British mags to clip. Your imagination knows no bounds .. Fairy chess indeed. A fairy tale.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Carrie Van HornSeptember 10, 2022 at 2:13 PM

    Such a wonderful memory Chrissa! So beautiful it is now a lovely and magical poem. My mother used to make handkerchief dolls. She would draw on the face with pen.

    ReplyDelete
  3. JimSeptember 10, 2022 at 6:54 PM

    Little kids loved to make things, then imagine what they are. Or vise versa.
    I learned that we should never ask what or who it is, that may give the signal
    that everything needs to be ordered and names.

    ReplyDelete
  4. Gillena CoxSeptember 11, 2022 at 6:03 AM

    Wonderful memory Chrissa. We need those so much
    Happy you dropped by my blog today

    Much💛love

    ReplyDelete
  5. rallentandaSeptember 11, 2022 at 8:00 AM

    Very creative childhood games....they are invaluable !

    ReplyDelete
  6. Rosemary Nissen-WadeSeptember 11, 2022 at 6:45 PM

    A lovely memory and a beautifully oblique way øf referring to the prompt/s.

    ReplyDelete
  7. ms_liliSeptember 12, 2022 at 9:30 AM

    Fun game. I'm still doing it with my collage.

    ReplyDelete
  8. Susie ClevengerSeptember 12, 2022 at 1:42 PM

    Oh I love this...fairytale chess. Your poem is delightfully visual.

    ReplyDelete

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