In a Time of Lockets, a Time of Lace

In a time of lockets, a time of lace
Fled from there and left no trace
I bunched my skirts, took off my shoes
And ran

Anne Shirley spirit and a mandolin
I've worn my dimpled, pirate grin
And used the fine bone china
For the cold, dry gin

Wild Maeve, I'll ride bare back
Hildegard off the beaten tracks
Gloria in Excelsis, Freedom, and a
Dodi Li

Salted season and a Holy One
Pearls in cupboards and hot cross buns
The willow and the tulips
Join nasturtium

Saved by music and saved by rain
Feel the drops wash away pain
Blithely, Gilbert swoops right in
To take me away

Saved by letters and saved by loves
Warmed by shining up above
Small ones frolic in the grasses
Just right there

Braid flowers into fairy crowns
Sew curtains into royal gowns
Pile the wood so high for
Stolen nights

Hidden deep, deep in the woods
The only sound, the hummingbirds
Thorn fences to protect us, too
From prying eyes

I once knew quite the motley crew
Of evil banshees who would stew
Whenever I would bloom
Before the thaw

So I closed the door on their shrill cries
I saw the open, clearest skies
I made a way of living
Far from them

Saved by a still crooning voice
I realized there was a choice
Felt all their arms enfold me
As their own

Caught my dreams in widest nets
Butterflies and rubies set
In rings that did adorn
My dancing hands

The small, old schoolhouse
Has new rooms
And new books
Scented like perfume

Take my hand
Cross the creek
I will meet you there
Each week

Use gold leaf
As you speak
"Once upon a time..."
You seek

And shall find
All the things
That the prophets
Did foresee

In a time of lockets, a time of lace
I furnished with the gift of grace
The cream did get the cat
This time around

My ear that's placed low to the ground
No longer barrows
But living mounds
The bees will hear that I am here to stay