A Child’s Fantasy

When I saw that this week’s competition for Penable was about fantasy, I wasn’t sure if I should enter. Until now, I had never written poetry that would fall into the category of fantasy, so I wasn’t sure that I would be able to come up with any ideas. I’m so glad that I gave it a shot! This poem is a little different from what I normally write, but I really enjoyed doing it. Thanks Midnightlion for encouraging me to enter!

A Child’s Fantasy

In air thick with haze,
She wakes to a maze,
At the end, a green hedge with a door in.

She picks correct paths
With ease, then she laughs.
This silly place–to her, it is foreign.

Stepping through the door,
She sees even more
Of the land and the creatures upon it:

Both fairy and beast
Trolls and sages–the least
Of which speak in great rhymes like a sonnet.

With hope for adventure
She asks will they send her
On a quest that she may soon embark?

Then forward step two,
These odd creatures who
Know a task that’s both tricky and dark.

This smooth-talking frog
And bespectacled dog,
Tell of a prince who needs saving.

So, she runs through the world–
That sly, clever girl–
While cliff walls all around her are caving.

She is stopped by a knight
Who dares her to a fight
When she carelessly tramples his garden,

But she lacks any swords,
So his request, she ignores,
And decides she will instead outsmart him.

She tells riddles and rhymes
Of both night and daytime,
And apologizes for her poor introduction.

Thrilled by her charm and wit,
The knight chooses to admit
That a prince has been trapped in his dungeon.

She asks for permission
To complete her sole mission
And take the prince out of that dark place.

Though knowing the danger,
The knight obliges the stranger,
A frightened look crossing his tan face.

She strides through the hallways,
Not scared, just as always,
And finds the prince trapped in that prison.

She undoes his cuffs,
And the prince huffs and puffs.
He then tells her his bad premonitions.

But she saved the dear prince
From the dungeon, hence
She does think that the hard part is over.

Then, a dragon appears,
And it fills her with fear
Of consequence really quite sober.

The winged figure ascends;
Its talons put to an end
Her hour spent thinking and scheming.

Her eyes open to Teacher–
Not some terrible creature–
Who then tells her, “No more day dreaming!”