Grateful by Brittany Warman

Scheherezade's Bequest 14

Grateful
by Brittany Warman

In my mind, prince,
I have woven evergreen branches through my hair
and fallen through worlds like snow.

I have sucked the juice
from red ripe pomegranate seeds
gratefully, with abandon–
I have explored my life inside enchantment.

In my mind
I have been light on a butterfly’s wing,
the shadows on a forest floor,
the ticking sounds of a clock.

I have heard the ocean’s cry;
seen the glitter of the city inside me.
I have built a tower
from the pieces of my spell haunted experience.

In my mind
I have walked inside a cat’s eye,
swam with seals,
and slept beside my own still body.

What right have you,
love and swords,
to end my dreams?

To call it waking,
to call it a kiss,
and say I should be grateful?


Brittany Warman is a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and is currently working on her master’s degree in folklore at George Mason University. She has had creative work published in Magpie Magazine, Finery, EMG-Zine, Jabberwocky, and The Sarah Lawrence College Review. Her website is www.brittanywarman.com and she journals at briarspell.livejournal.com.