A Mirror's Emprise

The little girl looked in the mirror at dawn

She watched her mouth as it opened to yawn

Sleepiness came, again her eyes shut

And then, she saw something strange, but what?

.

Her heartbeat quickened, her eyes became wide

She scanned the mirror: front, back, and side

She rubbed her eyes hard, looking up, looking down

Feeling distressed and confused, her mouth frowned

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She swore in the mirror something flickered deep blue

She gazed intently, studying the view

Butterflies filled her stomach with dread

She raised her hand up, her fingers now lead

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She stretched out one digit, flesh touching glass

In that brave finger, fear was surpassed

Where her finger touched, a ripple emerged

A portal was open, her entrance was urged

.

By what? She wasn’t sure, but onwards she went

The wind blew fiercely, the air was coldly ferment

Darkness enclosed, a lightning bolt struck

Rain came in sheets, bats flew amok

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In her eye’s corner was another flicker of blue

She turned rather sharply to follow the hue

In the distance, a blue satin cape whipped

‘round the ankles of a figure descending a crypt

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She hesitated until she heard a grave tune

Summoned forward, she wasn’t immune

The voice was soft, a lullaby’s kiss

The song that lulled her went something like this:

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“Don’t be afraid, you’re not alone

Come to me child, warm up your bones

One step, two steps, come quickly now

Into the crypt, repeat this vow:

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I am yours for the taking, have at my soul

Ice, fire, and coal, I give up control

Walk with me in the day, forsake only night

Feel the heat- out of spite, feel the light

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When you awaken, your eyes will be mine

A reflection so familiar, uncanny, sublime

Just give consent and I’ll give you the earth

Just repeat these words, give me your worth”

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The girl began to speak, repent, and repeat

But then something happened: she remembered her feet

She looked down at her toes covered in dirt

Looked up at the figure before her, alert

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The crypt was enclosed with stones of concrete

Mice scattered, scurried, hungry to eat

The satin cape had a hood, its length touched the ground

She searched the visage, but no face was found

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“Before I repeat the words that you seek

Allow me to look upon you, let our eyes meet”

The ghoul or the goblin didn't like this one bit

He growled and he hissed and he had an ill fit

.

“Who dare come before me and seek to look?

Who are you girl? A brave soul, I mistook?”

Although the girl shook, she stood tall and firm

“This is my dream, you will abide by my terms.”

.

Truth be told, the girl had long known

That this world to her was once shown

She remembered the bats, the crypt, and the ghoul

From a book of tales she read after school

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She looked down the hood into the nothing of dark

“I am not scared, from this dream, I’ll disembark

And you, dear ghoul, will be like dust in the wind

In my imagination, you have no beginning, no end”

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At this, the ghoul scoffed, he’d been bested, ’twas true

This girl made him question the reality he knew

The girl turned her back and walked up the stairs

Out of the crypt, she grew wings and danced through the air

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Once she realized, her imagination Emprise

Her bravery grew and she saw sunny skies

She looked at the world and made it her own

She now wandered fearlessly into the unknown