Queen of Hearts
Interlaced Quatrains
My compass led me here, must be broken,
To slanted streets in a tilted city
The one of which trembling lips have spoken
A cry “All hail her royal majesty!”
Under a ceiling of chandeliers, gold
Flames swirling with crimson in my goblet,
The court celebrates the queen’s birthday. Bold
And lustrous rubies like dark blood droplets
Drip from her throat to her chest. Her fierce eyes,
Are serpents circling vats of viscid tar.
She bids me stay the night and I comply
But morning sun streams in through iron bars.
My feather pillow now a pile of straw,
Moldering and damp, dungeon walls covered
With grime, and shackles rubbing my wrists raw.
All the rumors, their true tale discovered –
Fly in a spiderweb, ensnared by her.
The immortal queen eats a special tart,
Vanilla, cherry, something sinister
The last ingredient: my beating heart.
About the Creator
D.K. Shepard
Character Crafter, Witty Banter Enthusiast, World Builder, Unpublished novelist...for now
Fantasy is where I thrive, but I like to experiment with genres for my short stories. Currently employed as a teacher in Louisville.
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More stories from D.K. Shepard and writers in Poets and other communities.
And the Sun Came Up Tremendous
In memory of the 12 girls who were among the first victims of the atomic age. The screen on Mara's smartphone screamed beams of blue light into her eyes as she doom scrolled through social media. It was 4:13am, and she was still laying on her side in her bed unable to let go of the news headlines whipping past.
By Amanda Starks6 days ago in Fiction
Comments (3)
Damn that ending was powerful!!! The entire poem built up to it so beautifully!
Excellent poem with all Poppy’s word prompts ✅. Loved the rhyme , beautiful vivid language & atmosphere. I’m still recovering ❤️🩹 from the shocking final line!😵💫. Amused by your chosen descriptor afterwards: for fun!😳
Ooh, I like the bit where the morning sun slants in, straight away the sense of the glamour falling away is made.