Hi dear friends and followers. Today I have a poem for you, I hope you enjoy the read.
The Woodworker and the Dwarf
One day, a very long time ago,
before dwarfs, and fairies, and elves, and gnomes
vanished from the sight and the world of man,
a woodworker took her cart past a huge, old oak tree.
She guided her donkey while pulling the load,
of poles and planks and nails and tools,
when it suddenly stopped and would not budge.
She cajoled the donkey but to no avail;
loudly it brayed and defiantly stood
as though frozen to the ground in its own dusty tracks.
The woodworker stood there in front of the cart,
rather dumbfounded at the donkey's halt.
She removed her wide-brimmed peasant's straw hat
and her long, unruly red tresses tumbled out
as she scratched her head over what next to do.
Tired she was, maybe the donkey was, too.
She then sat on a rock near the side of the road
in the hope that the donkey would soon change its mind.
No sooner had she found scarce comfort
perched on a rock near the road's wagon ruts
than she heard a rustling from within the bushes.
A sound had come from somewhere, she thought,
not far away from the huge, old oak.
The woodworker readied to protect herself
from whatever danger in the bushes there be.
She sprang to her feet and on the wagon's bed
she found a wooden pole, now a knightly lance!
In her right hand she grasped it with a warrior's grip,
prepared for combat on the noble field of battle
in the bushes, by the rock, near the huge, old oak tree.
Dreams, as they are, come to life as they will.
And the woodworker, Remina, dreamed often and big.
Sometimes her dreams were like chasing clouds
but once or twice they came close, so she caught them.
Instead of a chore girl or some farmer's wife,
a skilled artisan, a carpenter, she sought to be.
The carpenter's guild shared the trade with men;
so the red-haired girl learned to work in wood on her own
and journeyed in search of a carpenter's wages.
Now again came her dream, to serve king a knight,
without first serving knight as a page or a squire!
Only men are knights and no woman dare try it.
Again like the knight, so bold in her dream,
she entered the bush at the side of the trail,
her wooden pole-lance high above her head.
Warily forward Remina's steps went
while the donkey stood swatting flies with its tail.
The woman-knight's lance was prepared for its mark
as she rustled the bushes in search of the noise.
Nothing moved so she darted 'round the tree,
prepared to confront the danger that lay beyond.
Pictures of valor flashed through her mind's eye
until broken by the appearance of a dark, stocky form
that jumped out of the bushes, almost in her path!
Dropping her lance-pole, she tried to draw back
but the hem of her skirt caught her heel and she fell
backwards, onto the grass, with red hair
covering her eyes and hiding her blushing face.
The dwarf that she met made a run towards the forest,
then he stopped, looked back, and was rightly surprised.
There Remina laid, in a heap, screaming,
arms and legs flailing in a vain effort to get back up.
The dwarf realized it was not a knight with a lance,
but a young woman with long, red hair,
and, from what he could see from there,
a rather pretty face as well.
"My dear, let me give you a hand, if I may"
he said in a gentle, pleasant voice,
extending his hand out to help her stand up.
Remina took his hand and clambered to her feet.
Sheepishly she brushed the leaves and pine needles
from her clothing and picked the sticks from her hair.
The dwarf spoke further: "I am called McFee."
"Please, let us sit and collect our wits.
What is it that they call you, red-haired one?"
"Remina," she said, shyly, while biting on her knuckle.
"Do not worry, my lady. I will do you no harm.
I need to be certain that you are well and whole
before I leave you and return to my kingdom.
Remina stopped chewing on her right-hand's first knuckle
and dropping it to her side she turned,
and looked directly at the dwarf for the first time.
A small and perfect man was he,
no taller than her waist in height.
Home spun were his clothes,
well-fitting yet coarse and
colorful for a creature of the forest.
But then, not even the hawk or fox
could ever hope to catch this dwarf,
for fleet of foot were the forest dwarfs.
If not wanting to get caught they vanished,
like a shadow from light into the darkness.
But right then and there this red haired girl
had captured his heart more effectively
than the hawk or fox ever could hope to do.
This dwarf, the lords and ladies in his kingdom,
had never beheld such a diamond in the rough
as had MeFee when he beheld the woodworker woman.
Surely if he were to return with this prize
all would cheer him and fete him
and slap his back at what he had found.
The minutes flew as they grew more acquainted,
and the dwarf learned of her dreams and aspirations.
Swiftly he drew his bow with arrow placed.
Remina winced and closed here eyes tightly,
expecting the arrow to pierce her at any second.
But when no arrow came she opened them again, slowly.
She was overwhelmed by emotion because with his arrow true,
McFee had opened a doorway to a place she had never seen,
a place between worlds, without donkey or cart
or woodwork or wages or yearning for knighthood.
By the dazzling scene that lay before her she knew
that she was no longer standing where she had just seconds ago.
She saw a world like none she had ever seen before,
A world of beauty and light it was, and she could see it!
She beheld and marveled at yet another wonder before her.
A spiraled city floated in the clouds.
This was the kingdom of the dwarfs,
A world where she was free to live her dreams,
and to be all that she could ever possibly be.
This story is open for a sequel if you wish
Composed by Cynthia©
✿ ڰۣ❤In Loving Light from the Fairy Lady❤ڰۣ✿
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