Golden

Photo by Tim Mossholder on Unsplash

Searching far for sweet ripe apples
hanging golden from silver branches
fly under the stars and land as
the guards sleep heavy in their saddles.
Pluck the fruit and leave no track
clutch the golden orbs while the sun
rises and the guards gape stunned
at empty trees, but don’t be lax.
Fruit leaves no trail, yet princes chase
golden fruit to golden bird to golden maids.
How then his golden promises shall you evade
when he comes to test the hand of fate?
Leave these dreams of golden apples
seek instead for home grown pears.



Written for dVerse.

There are many fairy tales involving golden apples. They're often in a king's garden and are stolen by a bird(s), sometimes by a princess(es) who can change into a bird(s). A prince (or gardener's son) is tasked with stopping the theft of the apples, and has to quest for the bird and eventually the princess. While there are a few variations where the princess is in need of rescue, mostly she's straight up kidnapped - and then happily marries the prince at the end. This does not sit well with me, particularly when there's rarely a reason given for stealing the apples in the first place. This poem is sorta a conglomeration of all these fairy tales, as a warning to the princess and giving her the option to choose a different path.