Once Upon a Time

13 May Once Upon a Time

A poem was born

I tried to write a story
and found no ink in my pen
I grabbed a pencil, later
and tried it again
the point broke off
three words in
I pressed too hard –
the story begins
“Once upon a…”
-then ends.

the following day
I made another attempt
to write a poem of sorts
that starts off where I left
“Once upon a…time
I had a pen with no ink;
a pencil that broke;
a mind that couldn’t think.”
Then a cat in a hat
came strolling my way –
kept saying the Doctor
would roll in his grave.
He ripped up the poem –
only left me one line.
And with that, I began:

“Once upon a time…

there lived a girl with such skill,
she could write a million poems
that’d give the devil a chill.
but, the old village witch
cast a spell on the scribe,
crippling her talent –
that which kept her alive.
The girl didn’t know
the source of her block
and as time ticked away,
by the hands of the clock,
she questioned her craft,
doubted her art,
as the emptiness inside
sunk deep in her heart.
She visited the Healer
in search of a cure,
but he never heard
of her disease before.
After days of confusion,
weeks of disbelief,
months of affliction,
she needed relief.

So, she tried to write a story
and found no ink in her pen.
She grabbed a pencil, later
and tried it again.
The point broke off
three words in.
She pressed too hard.
The story begins,
‘Once upon a…’
then ends.”

05.13.2007

Included in my self-published e-book, Moths & Moonlight (2011).