Irene Rawnsley
The Squirrel's Bride
But it was dark and
night had torn up the map of
boundaries and spaces,
speaking lies like a kindness.
She was free and running.
Heather House among the pines
the box he'd kept her in,
the room with no telephone
was behind her.
Ahead lay an urban wilderness.
In the pocket of her coat
was the rag doll molly
she'd made from his paisley scarf,
knowing it was wrong,
doing it anyway.
She found her shoes
hidden in his walnut chest.
Now she wore them
paper thin in this new
indecipherable place.
night had torn up the map of
boundaries and spaces,
speaking lies like a kindness.
She was free and running.
Heather House among the pines
the box he'd kept her in,
the room with no telephone
was behind her.
Ahead lay an urban wilderness.
In the pocket of her coat
was the rag doll molly
she'd made from his paisley scarf,
knowing it was wrong,
doing it anyway.
She found her shoes
hidden in his walnut chest.
Now she wore them
paper thin in this new
indecipherable place.
Irene Rawnsley lives in the Yorkshire Dales. She writes for children and adults, both poetry and short stories. She has published several collections, the most recent of which is a pamphlet of poems, Anecdotal Evidence (Smith Doorstop, 2003). She is a writing tutor for the Open College of the Arts.
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