Sugar Plum Fairies
Dancing marionettes fill up the theater
Champagne flutes sing their nightly prayers
Shimmering fruits drown in rosé bubbles
But people only know the pastries are there
Amethyst eyes meet me in light sleep
Create delusions of grandeur that I’m special
Lavender gardens lead to an onyx street
Where moths murdered butterflies at a revel
I’m reaching for the end, healing for a friend
I’ve only witnessed the beginnings of dreams
Ghosts, I loathe their acquaintance
They twist my mind to think I’m in a fantasy
That you are Eros and still the myth goes
A girl’s left hanging on rose quartz cliffs
A boy’s left safely on the willow’s canopy
Belladonna dangerously gorgeous
Ethereal auras deprived from my berries
Magnolias clutched by the chorus
I shall never dance with sugar plum fairies
Black widows prefer vanilla gloves
Give embellishments to their porcelain dolls
And negligence to the recluse neighbors
No surprise when the welcome sign falls
Amethyst eyes meet me in light sleep
Create delusions of grandeur that I’m special
Lavender gardens lead to an onyx street
Where moths murdered butterflies at a revel
I’m waiting for the end, aching for a friend
I’ve only caught the aftertaste of bittersweet
Ghosts, I loathe their acquaintance
They twist my mind to think I’m in a fantasy
That you are Eros and still the myth goes
A girl’s left hanging on rose quartz cliffs
A boy’s left safely on the willow’s canopy
Belladonna dangerously gorgeous
Nightmares can’t be soothed in libraries
Emotions absolutely amorphous
I shall never dance with sugar plum fairies
It’s strongly encouraged to hold onto youth for solace
A child can burn in flames with skin that’s flawless
The fragrant smells of honey but the coating is all bloodied
My hands aren’t clean like my discontinued dreams
Despite themselves, ghosts have become wary
At least last night I glimpsed a sugar plum fairy
Denver Boxleitner is is a University of North Florida junior pursuing a fine arts degree. Her poetry has been published in Wingless Dreamer and Bridge: The Bluffton University Literary Journal. Her fiction has appeared in Forbes & Fifth, and another short story will be published this year in Millennial Pulp Literary Magazine.
The Albion Review 