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Daisy Bricks

The little ladies war

By Conor DarrallPublished 3 years ago Updated 3 years ago 6 min read
Top Story - April 2023
26
Daisy Bricks
Photo by John Roberts on Unsplash

(for LS on her birthday - 130915)

A little girl likes silken bows, and floating satin gowns,

And always holds her nursemaid’s hand whenever she’s in town,

She sits up straight, and never shouts and never gets unclean,

That’s what Daisy’s mother said, the tall and regal Queen.

-

But Daisy liked to skip and shout, and climb the highest trees,

And play down by the sandy shore, and get mud on her knees,

She liked to make things with her hands, from twigs and twine and clay,

And beat the boys at every game when they were all at play.

-

Her father was a busy King, with lands both far and wide,

In a castle on the highest cliffs, battered by the tide,

Upon his throne he’d ponder maps, and send his knights to war,

He saw his Daisy once a week, but wished to see her more.

-

A governess was sent for, when Daisy reached twelve years,

(Her mother had her washed and scrubbed and cleaned behind the ears)

When the lady reached the door, the Queen she did her worst.

“I order that you turn this pig’s ear to a silken purse.’

-

For five long years she trained so that one day she might be wed,

She learned to talk, and sit and walk (with books upon her head!)

Her governess was very strict, and beat her if she failed,

And Daisy left the girl who once had dirty fingernails.

-

So little cheeky Daisy became a princess true,

An elegant young wife-to-be, a lady through and through,

She played her harp, and held her tongue, and dreamed about the ring,

That some young prince might give her, once arranged by Queen and King.

-

But late at night when all was calm, and waves crashed on the rock,

She always had the strangest dream that left her cold with shock.

She stood upon a battlement, a longsword in her grip,

And then she’d see a little girl who loved to run and skip.

-

The King was very anxious, for war was on its way,

And when the vicious strike might come, none of his knights could say,

An evil Lord had fought his way across all peaceful lands,

He would not rest until he had the whole world in his hands.

-

And so the King commanded that each every able man,

Must leave their homes and build a wall, the countryside to span.

He told his knights to sharpen sword, and gather every spear,

And out they rode to meet their foes and face their greatest fear.

-

They galloped out with battle-cries and weapons raised on high,

So fierce they felt they knew the enemy must run or die.

When suddenly a crooked man sprung from the ground alone,

And waved his hands and muttered spells and turned them all to stone!

-

The evil army marched straight on, so deep into the land,

The wizard’s spell had made a statue out of every man,

And so the Wall stood incomplete, the Castle soft and weak.

The Queen took to her bed at once, the future looked so bleak.

-

That night in bed as Daisy slept, the dream came back once more,

This time she was a warrior, leading men to war,

But, no, these soldiers were not men, but women young and old,

Who marched to fight the enemy; fearless, strong and bold.

-

She leapt from bed and gave the cry, ‘To war my sisters be’

And went down to the armoury, the weapons there to see,

She chose a sword, both long and sharp, and took a hammer bright,

And striding with a plan she went, marching into Night.

-

Three days hence, the evil army, sixty feet away,

Were happy with their chances, before their feet there lay,

Silly ladies, holding swords, dressed as if for war,

Their smug grins vanished quickly when they heard the Battle Roar.

-

Now know this friend, some folk are good at jumping and at sport,

Some people read, some people sing, some people do all sorts.

It’s very easy to act small, and make the world seem cold,

But ladies with a vengeance is a bad sight to behold!

-

These silly girls, these ancient crones, they cut the evil down,

Then ran back to the castle walls with a flow of silken gowns,

The wizard was the first to die, for in spite of his power,

He thought that ladies could not fight (it proved his final hour).

-

Back at the walls, where Daisy worked, remembering the days,

When she played along the shoreline, with twig and twine and clay,

The wall it was completed, as strong as strong could be,

Her black hair cantered in the wind, a wondrous sight to see.

-

She saw the army, gave a sigh, and took a gulping breath,

And from each cranny in the wall there came a rain of death.

The little ladies knew quite well how one should use a bow.

And man and man fell to the ground, like flakes of winter snow.

-

For in the time that she had known, the war that she must fight,

Daisy had been working hard, toiling day and night,

She made a strong wall, cutting bricks, a fortress had prepared,

And now laughed as the evil army vanished in the air.

-

The evil Lord came to the wall, dodging every spear,

He tried to muster courage but his voice it shook with fear,

‘Come down and fight with honour, sir, if you even can’

Daisy raised her helmet ‘Don’t mistake me for a man.’

-

She left the walls and went to fight, the longsword in her hand,

(And every home will tell the same tale all across the land),

The evil Lord, he cut and thrust and tried to knock her down,

But died there by a warrior, in floating silken gowns.

-

The evil Lord fell down and with his death his men did flee,

A yawning sigh came over all, breathing from the sea,

The statue-knights were made anew, became themselves again,

And saw the Kingdom had been saved by ‘ladies’, not by men.

-

The King came to his daughter, touched her cheek and then declared,

‘My darling little Daisy with your flowing raven hair,

The King you’ll be from this day forth, for your action brave and quick,

The people cheered and born her nickname was ‘Wee Daisy Bricks’

-

Her rule was wise and patient, and all folk had a chance,

Whether they be boy or girl, to sing or fight or dance,

And when she died, so very old, nearly ninety-three,

They built a little tomb for her on the shore down by the sea.

-

Because she liked to build things, and work well with her hands,

This ‘little lady’ rose to be the ruler of her lands,

So books are not their covers, nor things be what they seem,

King Daisy Bricks would tell you, ‘You are made of what you dream.’

surreal poetry
26

About the Creator

Conor Darrall

Short-stories, poetry and random scribblings. Irish traditional musician, sword student, draoi and strange egg. Bipolar/ADD. Currently querying my novel 'The Forgotten 47' - @conordarrall / www.conordarrall.com

Reader insights

Outstanding

Excellent work. Looking forward to reading more!

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Comments (9)

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  • Mike Singleton - Mikeydred11 months ago

    Epic words and deserved Top Story

  • Lena Folkert11 months ago

    I'm stoked they made it a top story! I'm so glad I listed it in the thread! I read it again and yep... I cried again. I wish I'd had this book when I was a kid. Publish this, bro! ❤

  • Heather Hubler11 months ago

    How wonderfully epic!! And those last two lines perfectly summed up your whole fantastic tale. Bravo for this!!

  • Nice 💖🎉💯Congratulations on your Top Story❗

  • Jo Darrall11 months ago

    Awesome!!! Whoop whoop whoop! X

  • Loryne Andawey11 months ago

    Get this into a children's book publisher RIGHT NOW!

  • Caroline Jane11 months ago

    I have read this before but not commented/been able to back then. Quite the epic tale you penned here!

  • Judey Kalchik 11 months ago

    This is wonderful- I'm glad it was shared in the Raise Your Voice thread! Well done.

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