After Grimm

I am alive for him,

and he is my rescued love.

I offer my golden skills

for you to weave power of:

power of my black hair,

power of my golden voice,

power of the endless thread

to weave your commingling trace;

What do you want from me?

Why do I need to comb

and play the flute and spin

at the edge of your ancient home?

I know my husband's life

was covered with this fear.

Now he rises alive

out of your swimming air,

and I am freed, with gold

and dreams and a crone's advice,

to reach with my skills and fears

through the surface of your life.

I am alive for him,

and he is my rescued love.

Here are my golden skills

for you to weave power of:

power of my black hair,

power of my golden voice,

power of the endless thread

to weave your commingling trace

Nixie, I will send

A song down through the water

Till it reaches your home.
I will be your daughter.

I will not be the same;

I will turn hard like a toad;

I will only be his wife again

at the end of a hard, equal road.

From Spells (first published in The Poets’ Grimm)