What Cinderella Taught Me

By imaniisfaith

Wed, 17 Jun 2015
  • 661 reads
4 comments
 
She was nothing
Before Once Upon a Time.
Those were the words that birthed her.
For her life was a story
That someone else had written
And that she'd been forced to read 
So many times
That she already knew 
How it ended. 
 
She was nothing,
Before the ball gown.  
Before the sea blue silk 
And the beautiful satin bustle. 
For without it,
No one had ever noticed 
The neat nip 
Of her tiny waist,
Or commented on
The clarity of her 
Cerulean eyes, 
Or watched her dance
As if she were an object
Of desire. 
 
She was nothing, 
Without the glass slippers. 
Forgettable even. 
Something about her face
Just wouldn't stick. 
So she left the slipper behind, 
So that in case she fell in love,
And he happened to forget her name, 
Or what she looked like at all,
He'd have something,
More precious, 
To remember her by. 
 
She was nothing,
Before he came along. 
With her sooty face
And calloused hands. 
She was nothing. 
And he was something. 
And I suppose it's easier 
To add nothing to something
Than it is for nothing
To make something of itself. 
 
She was nothing, 
Without the magic. 
Without the fairy dust 
Or the pumpkin carriages. 
For though she'd always been 
Tough,
Cleaning tiles with toothbrushes,
And though she'd always been 
Decent, 
Even to those who did not deserve it,
Of course, no man would ever love her
For that. 
 
She was nothing, 
Before the tale. 
Like you and me
She was 
Just a girl. 
But do not despair 
There is hope for us yet. 
For Cinderella taught us,
As these stories always do,
That there is no girl 
Too plain
To be fixed by a 
Bibbity
Bobbity 
Boop. 
 
Certificate U
Poem
Young Writers
Fantasy
Humour
Miscellaneous
Love

Comments

Submitted by haze on

hello imaniisfaith,

enjoyed reading your poem - a different slant on the familiar -

yeah, the title is rubbish - Cinders' Secrets ?

personally, I'd drop the penultimate verse - it's clunky compared to the rest and doesn't add much.

really loved the ending - i remember it as bibbity bobbity boo - probably wrong

thanks for sharing.......h

Submitted by airyfairy on

I was really interested to read this because I'm reading one of Marina Warner's books on fairytales, and the way they are reinvented and recast so many times.  I particularly liked the third stanza, which seems to speak to a fear in all of us.  I think the penultimate stanza is probably less subtle than the others, but it has its place and personally I'd keep it, perhaps with a bit of reworking.  But yes, you are right about the title!  Can't offer any sparkling suggestions but I'm sure you'll get there.  I like your take on the tale.

Submitted by Philip Sidney on

Is this for Poetry Monthly?  I think it should be.  There are some great ideas here and has a dark undertow (for me anyway) so I like the title, the influence of these stories and Disney on young girls. I think with a little tweaking (e.g. losing capital letters at the start of each line when not the start of a sentence, that sort of attention to detail) this will be a very good poem!

Submitted by Deliberately Ev... on

I absolutely adore this poem - the ending really got to me. It was funny but bought a little tear to my eye. I found it extremely touching. Brilliant.

The beat of your heart is the mellifluent rhythm to my soul.