She Also Was True Poem by Mary Angela Douglas

who wouldn't love the die cut paper castles,
paper snowflakes snipped, the mirrored pond
reflections of a pink tulled dancer

on one leg standing in an old story; much loved in
arabesque of the rose
one leaden soldier to wait upon.
being made of paper not much was left to chance
a misplaced wind, an uncertain dance
a gust from a stove ablaze and
the end of storied days, snip snap.
these are the happenstantial ways
Hans Andersen furnished
for a paper valentine
to those farther down the line.
where the leaden soldier
never loses nerve
but is captive to a breeze
and the dancer at attention too
in the end, oh cinder of the rose
we rue.
though she also,
was true.
mary angela douglas 15 january 2019; 10 march 2023