Ballerina Toy Box

Cherry

By marandina

Sun, 29 Aug 2021
  • 1369 reads
10 comments
 

The boundary between the real and imagined world can be a thin veil

 

Daylight fades, an ethereal twilight descends,

I turn the key, music tinkles like gentle rain,

feminine, tiny dancer spins, pirouettes,

pinks and blues, arms entwined, aloft.

 

A balletic journey into metaphor where

illusion and alacrity runs in torrents,

a cautionary step across an unseen threshold

into a world of masked dances at midnight.

 

Glass slippers from far flung fables,

kings and queens stolen from fairy tales.

She smiles (thinly) spins and twirls,

fantasy figurine from childhood dreams.

 

I watch her musical movement and imagine,

heraldic tales of dragons and wizards,

enchanted magicians, mystics and castles

surrounded by mist in moonlit forests.

 

And the dance finally slows and stops,

reverie broken by the cold chill of reality,

no longer faerie wings and princess tiaras,

once more locked in the asylum of my mind.

 

Image free to use at WikiCommons https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Music_box#/media/File:Caja_musica.jpg

Certificate U
Poem
Miscellaneous Poems
Fantasy

Comments

Submitted by skinner_jennifer on

Hi Paul,

I must be one of those that lives in the asylum of the mind, because I believe in that thin veil between our reality and other worlds, some to me have just lost the ability to recall. The American indians knew a thing or two about veils to other worlds and they haven't forgotten.

It's good to be able to read and talk about a subject that really interests me, how all our fairy tales and fables didn't just get made up out of the mind, but to me they were written from those that had experiences, even though many only believe it what they can see. 

I like your metaphor of the ballerina as she twirls, taking the reader into another realm, makes so much sense to me and was a joy to read.

Jenny.

 

Submitted by marandina on

Oh thanks for reading and the feedback, lovely Jenny. A nice end to a day just spent with my daughter and partner in Staffs. Paul :)

 

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for the cherries, ABC Eds. Much appreciated. Paul

 

Submitted by Di_Hard on

"She smiles (thinly) spins and twirls," seems sad? Is it because she is trapped doing the same dance over and over, like a doorkeeper into magic, so though she seems fragile is powerful. But longs to have wings be in the place she guards? 

 

Submitted by marandina on

Hi Di. Thanks for reading. Yes, the smile is part of the enigma of whether the whole thing is real or not. Thanks for picking up on that. Paul :)

 

Submitted by Rhiannonw on

People everywhere have always enjoyed their stories of imagination, maybe sometimes echoing the problems of real life, but also just relaxation. It is vivid that being mesmerised by such a musical twirling smiling ballerina can trigger relaxation into the tales rememberd  for a short escape.

When you say asylum of the mind, I was unsure how you were taking that word, At first it seemed like referring to the harshness of reality, but then I realised the word actually means 'shelter' as in 'asylum-seekers' ? Rhiannon

 

Submitted by jeand on

HI Paul

 

I remember a ballet dancer turning in my childhood musical box and recently saw a film on TV where the removed dancer was part of the evidence of murder. Anyway, it was a fun poem to read and relate to.

Jean Day

Submitted by marandina on

Thanks for reading it, Jean :)

 

Submitted by Hades502 on

Another poem from you. You are a good writer. It's interesting the way you do both prose and poetry very well. Congratulations on the cherries. Some very good writing.

GGHades502

Submitted by marandina on

Ah thanks for reading, Hades. Paul