The tiger’s eye glitters green in the candelabra’s glare,
a patchwork girl sits, a lost princess in her mind;
Tik-Tok Tik-Tok she mouths to herself, as the shadows fade,
the absence of emeralds, sloughed rubied slippers.
All this Rinkitink and rattlebrain stuff, the chaff of printing presses
and limelight, the harsh lament for Sitting Bull,
the sighs of books tumbling from shelves (too high! too high!),
Nelebel and Molly Oodle chinwagging by the Yellow Ryl –
Hush, hush – silence for a magic-Lord in his own fantasies,
Van der Graaf iced-lightning, touched by a rich, verdant madness!
Silver trophy winner
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