Wednesday's Verse - A Lesson Learned

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This week’s verse moves from a speculative fantasy verse about the coming of trolls and knights to an unsuspecting world, to an urban fantasy verse about someone's first encounter with a fairy and a troll. It is taken from Another 365 Days of Poetry, a collection of mixed-genre poetry released in 2019.

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A Lesson Learned


The fairy shimmered in the pond, as it flew from tree to tree.

The fairy shimmered in the pond, but it would not fly to me.

I looked up to watch it pass, caught the briefest shine of fairy dust,

but when I looked into the pond, it had passed and I could not see.



I was sure I’d seen a fairy pass, in the still depths of the pond.

In truth it passed me well above, the lily pads and long fern fronds.

In truth it passed me well above, but it faded from the eye,

so only in the pond’s still depths could I watch the fairy fly.



The fairy passed me by with grace, but swiftly, like she flew a race,

and watching in the mirror pond, I saw what it was that she fled from,

and I thought that maybe I too should flee, or hide, or run, or maybe scream,

but for all these things I was far too late, when the troll broke through the garden gate.



And that was when I truly knew that knights and heroes were too few,

for there was no knight that I could see, who would save the fairy, or even me,

so I stared with wide, wild eyes, as the troll strode past, and watched the fairy fly

and so I stared and held my breath, lest the troll look down and I catch my death.



And the troll strode on, his purpose clear, to catch the fairy who flew in fear.

And I sat still, amidst stones and moss, and wondered if the fairy lost

her race with the troll who chased her home, through the twilit garden in the evening’s gloam

and ne’er again, did I outside stray, when the sun was setting at the end of day.

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You can find the first two poetry collections at the links below - although there are plans to reissue them with more genre-appropriate covers in the future. The third collection will be released later in the year.


Location: Canberra ACT 2601, Australia

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