I never held a tiny little warm thing
in shaking hands, brought it up to my neck
and huddled it close, despite the fact
it was covered in blood.
I found you ready-made.
It’s a lie to say that it was only later
I realised you were going to outshine me.
It was obvious from the moment
I first saw you.
You were four, and even then,
your stare was darker than mine,
and dragged, and foamed
at the mouths of the pupils
in a way mine never could.
I never saw your own white skin
stained with traces of blood,
just other people’s, sometimes.
People who’d become
too-well acquainted with your lips
and lost the colour they were made of.
I never saw tiny eyes opening
for the first time –
I came too late for that –
but I saw your fully-grown eyes
snap open, your slender hands
reach up to be lifted from the earth.
Even then, I felt sorry for you,
trapped in the dark all this time,
but you didn’t give me long for it.
Your black hair swept over
the darker, weathered skin on my neck.
I had to watch you die more times
than any kind of mother should ever
have to bear,
and you made me pay for that,
in the end.
Author notes
Option 2 [and for some reason this box has taken against the heart, but consider it here]
Inspired by 3 things:
1) The Snow White story
2) This picture: http://kittielitter69.deviantart.com/art/Snow-White-16887222
3) The Neil Gaiman short story 'Snow, Glass, Apples', which is told from the stepmother/wicked queen's point of view. (It's very good. You can find it in his book of short stories 'Smoke and Mirrors'.)
A contest entry
- Snow white :)... the Other side of the story... by Lady Michaella.
302 points, ended September 12, 2008, 10 entries
Honorable mention
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest - Bring Me Your Wicked by XpushXmeXagainX.
875 points, ended October 6, 2008, 24 entries
• next poem in this contest, remove from contest
Comments
-
Very interesting take on the prompt! Yes, I shall have to find that extra story, I love the other sides of the stories, those are the best. Anyways, thanks for entering
-RoseDaughter-
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