triplexity

i have never lived in a castle
like the one you may see in north wales
where stone walls lean
in lichen and moss shingled
in fragrant sky

i have never slept in a turret
reached by a circular stair
the single round room
a cat’s eye slit window
overlooking a bay
filled with wind and whale

i have never lived in a fairytale
forest where children explore
edges of never-ever
of rescue from wolf crone
the castle is waiting

my body a cul-de-sac
resistant relic
rainbow-swathed
scars vanish in shadow
in hope souvenired

my mind is a crawl space
see how the motes spin
disco ball mirrors
always lit imagine
strange is familiar is
exhalation

my soul a privet in summer’s
bloom ragged and sweet smelling
branches abuzz with webs and wasps a maze
me i don’t need to be rescued
i am a lock the story a key

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Wendy Mannis Scher is a graduate of Smith College, the University of Colorado’s School of Pharmacy, and the Low Residency MFA program for Creative Writing/Poetry at the University of Alaska/Anchorage. Her poems most recently have been published or are forthcoming in BirdHouse Magazine, Rogue Agent, and the chapbook, Fault (Finishing Line Press). Currently, Wendy lives with her husband and animal companions in the Colorado foothills.