Rapunzel

Hero

and heroine

tackle the tower,

Step

By

Step.

Rapunzel, no longer trapped

 …the world her oyster

She is a perfect pearl.

A valuable treasure,

And adored by a prince.

A witch lies in wait at the top of the tower.

Footsteps jar her thoughts

As the two reckless lovers

Climb slowly together.

She wrings her hands,

Racked with ferocious worry.

Rapunzel has a score to settle,

a final vow, uttered through a

tattered letter, torn to pieces

by a witch’s angst, once she

discovered her daughter had

fled…to the outside world.

But not without a promise;

a promise to come back, to

right the wrong her mother had

committed, by calling her “daughter.”

Can a witch destroy her daughter?

The prince is useless, worthless,

helpless, harmless…brainless.

But…her daring daughter.

Rapunzel was so loved,

even by a witch (who had

always wanted children…

but no man could ever love

even a kindly, smiling witch.)

Desperate for a daughter,

she stole a golden-haired,

bright-eyed, precious baby girl.

Destined to be wild, that child.

Always exploring and searching,

demanding to leave the tower.

But the world would soon notice;

a witch’s daughter was rare.

Rapunzel would not be deterred.

Now she is stronger, smarter, better.

No longer a child. Is she any match

 for the witch, her mother, her first love?

There is no time left – Rapunzel climbs in the unlocked window.

Her mother smiles one last time.

a beautiful baby looks at her,

golden-haired, bright-eyed, beautiful.

precious as a pearl. A last goodbye;

a single tear slides down, hitting the floor.

The dagger is sharp as it plunges

 into knowing flesh, silent as the grave.

Rapunzel screams, a harsh noise that shatters

the all-consuming silence. The prince is too slow,

he can not save…the witch, who falls backwards,

Onto the stone floor. Finality makes the moment last.

How strong is a mother’s love?