The Youth of the Springtime
They were tutting at us, yet covered by hands Our mothers hid smiles as we charged through the lands. For miles you could hear how we laughed out with cheer As spring sun burned cheeks and our filled shoes with sands.
In our hunt for the fairies that lived in the flowers We were told to take care as small seeds fell in showers. They had stories they told of these children of old That the fairies had captured and kept with their powers.
“The fairies,” they said, “were an unpleasant lot With sharp teeth and claws and they kept what they caught.” Not like in tales where they danced in their vales And knew to keep hidden whenever they’re sought.
We laughed at their nonsense, “How silly“, we said As we left the tall grass to play chases instead. If we startled at plants or the movement of ants We shouted, “The fairies are just in our head!”
Our mothers just laughed and still smile at their joke When we let out a scream or small frightened choke. Forgiveness was slow, but our mothers, they’d know All’d be forgot when, next day, we woke.
That night, in my dreams, the joke was no more, The fairies were pretty and danced like before. They were small, with burned cheeks and their smiles were so fair That warmth filled my chest straight down to my core.