NaPoWriMo – Day Fifteen: Bluebeard’s Wife

It was not cold enough to keep her whole

when Spring sprung anew to curdle her soul,

so he wept just like the castle walls

as they shed their sorrows at the thaw

and the ice around her heart did melt

as much as any love she’d ever felt

when confronted with his face and gait

so apposed to the words he’d carefully placed

in letters crafted on cold summer nights

in rooms empty of laughter, or of life.

Now she lay among her sisters past,

flowers sullied, bloomed all too fast,

victim to the warming months

where little for her condition could be done

except to watch her cheeks give way,

her skeleton to rise

beneath layers of decay,

and press his lips to white of her throat

when all that remained

was spinal column and bone.

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I might have gone a little off target with today’s NaPoWriMo prompt: “writing a poem in which a villain faces an unfortunate situation and is revealed to be human (but still evil)”.

I’m not sure I managed to make Bluebeard sound in any way, shape or form human, but the prompt did inspire the poem so I have that at least.

Apologies if I sound croaky in the audio recording, I woke up feeling a little under the weather today. Nothing terrible, just a slightly sore throat and a stuffy nose.

P.S – I’m still looking for NaPoWriMo participants to take part in a series of guest posts in May showcasing their favorite poems from the month and a review of how they found the April challenge. You can find more info here.