Journey of the Rainbow Leaf

Maple leaf in fall

Citrine, amber, sage, russet, claret,
Green of tree and brown of earth:
Every autumn shade gleams
Between its yellow veins.
Tiny fairies ride wind swells on it:
A magic carpet to buzz bushes and skim ponds.
Three baby hedgehogs with shivering quills
Hide beneath it, from a cold rain.
Then it’s sewn into a cape for the Harvest Queen,
She of the forest and glen,
It swirls like an autumn rainbow.
Its folds flash between dancing courtiers,
As all the fairies make merry.
Soon the bitter winds will blow.

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

White Butterfly Dream

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The white butterfly raises her wings,
Setting sail across the wide Dogwood Sea.
Wind makes the crossing choppy,
White wings jibe and come about,
Alighting nowhere, like a fae albatross.
The cabbage-white butterfly blends —
She could be a dogwood petal
But for her mesmerizing aerial dance.
One tiny egg laid on the underside of a mustard leaf,
Gave birth to her brief but ecstatic life.
Her tiny white wing-sails make of the air an endless ocean.
Oh, to dance with her on the white breakers,
Smelling sweetly of spring rather than salt
With nectar’s spray dampening my skin.

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Clarity Pyramid: FAE

Cherry blooms, clouds

FAE
Fairy
Magical

Winged joy in child’s heart
Connected to nature
Hides in imagination

“For to have faith is to have wings.”

Copyright 2014 Brenda Davis Harsham

Note: The quote is from Peter Pan, by J. M. Barrie. This was inspired by Paint the World with Words, hey, Amreen, I hope you are feeling better soon!! (She apparently had a bad week or two.) A Clarity Pyramid is a poetic form with so many rules that I decided not to write one, right before one popped into my head in that mysterious way ideas have. I’ll set out the rules: 7 lines, increasing in syllable count, 1/2/3 then 5/6/7 culminating in an 8 syllable quotation. The title should be the one syllable line, bold and in all caps, and then the rest of the poem describes or elucidates the title.

Sonnet to a Cabbage

Cabbage in Snow

Shall I compare thee to a summer’s bloom?
Thou art more hardy and vivid in snow.
Over charming cabbages, dark clouds loom,
Soft fall winter’s tears on curled leaf below.
Coldest days, the white sky fills with snowflakes
Their white color enhances your bolder.
The distant sun peeks, an opening makes,
Crystal sparkles enchant the beholder.
And yet, the blindness reminds of regrets,
Summer sprite and fae gardens are no more.
Gnomes and dwarves hibernate in cabbage beds,
Violet leaf consoles as we adore.
   Even when we wearily shovel snow,
   We are buoyed by your vibrant purple glow.

Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham
Note: Inspired by Shakespeare’s Sonnet 18 (one of my favorites), after learning one of my readers had not read Shakespeare. 

Fae Cousins

Friendly Fairy Tales is proud to offer its newest Adventurous Fairy Tale, Fae Cousins.

ozaka, sunset

Photograph of Osaka used with permission of Mohamad Reza

Excerpt of
Fae Cousins

From a distance, cities like Osaka seem all concrete and steel, not a place for a fairy’s magic. Jade Lion Fairy knew the opposite was true. Urban Fairies are the busiest fairies, sprinkling their magic over long distances and up high heights. They look after patio flowers, green squares, Castle Gardens, parks, tightly confined trees and small children. If nature pushes through the concrete and flourishes, then a fairy enchants.

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Jade Lion rode the tide of heat from a vent all the way up to a balcony. A fairy in a glamour could appear as a shimmering heat wave or a large insect. She tucked her sparkling wings neatly on her back and sprinkled fairy dust from her bag on the tall purple orchids, which seemed to glow from within. Meanwhile, she also looked around for her necklace.

“Where did I lose it?” she wondered to herself. She thought back over where she had been. The last time she remembered taking it out of her dahlia-petal dress was when she showed it to that Tokyo sprite.

“Ouch! Hey, I’m Spit Spite Sprite – Just call me Spritester,” the small, blue-skinned sprite and she had collided under a Japanese maple tree by Osaka Bay. He danced on a salty breeze, laughing.

Click here to read the rest of Fae Cousins.

Copyright 2013 Brenda Davis Harsham

Note: First photograph published by Folliculostella and was taken by Mohamad Reza.