La Valse de L'amour
By: Meghan Coley
How does one craft an ode to Cinderella
When it seems like the rest of the world
Has already taken it upon themselves to
Retell her story time and time again,
Fitting it to the contours of their own perspective?
I’ve pressed my face against the tv screen
To allow my gaze to fully encompass
The girl in the full blue skirt
Who encompasses the gaze of a prince
Who has no sense of
The floors she sweeps
And the soot she sleeps
Inside of like a caterpillar,
Awaiting a fairy godmother to
Turn her into a butterfly.
Watch the clock, princess.
Keep it in the corners of your eye,
For while this prince sweeps you away,
Off the floor,
To the sky,
As you dance, swirl,
Get chased out the door.
Spin, dip,
And wonder what you’re running for,
They’ll still continue to write odes for you,
Cinderella, daughter, woman, figure.
Perhaps this is an ode for you and your prince,
For all the little girls who dreamed of dancing
In your glass slippers
On that spotless floor
Who aren’t so little anymore, who
Still long for the dream of love
You seemed to have found.
Here lies my ode for you.
Cinderella (2015)
How does one craft an ode to Cinderella
When it seems like the rest of the world
Has already taken it upon themselves to
Retell her story time and time again,
Fitting it to the contours of their own perspective?
I’ve pressed my face against the tv screen
To allow my gaze to fully encompass
The girl in the full blue skirt
Who encompasses the gaze of a prince
Who has no sense of
The floors she sweeps
And the soot she sleeps
Inside of like a caterpillar,
Awaiting a fairy godmother to
Turn her into a butterfly.
Watch the clock, princess.
Keep it in the corners of your eye,
For while this prince sweeps you away,
Off the floor,
To the sky,
As you dance, swirl,
Get chased out the door.
Spin, dip,
And wonder what you’re running for,
They’ll still continue to write odes for you,
Cinderella, daughter, woman, figure.
Perhaps this is an ode for you and your prince,
For all the little girls who dreamed of dancing
In your glass slippers
On that spotless floor
Who aren’t so little anymore, who
Still long for the dream of love
You seemed to have found.
Here lies my ode for you.
Cinderella (2015)
All Text Copyright (C) 2023 Meghan Coley
