Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in Wonderland to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
In the corner of the meadow where the morning dew is shed,
There's a ring of little mushrooms, in a circle, white and red.
Step inside it at midnight, and the world will fade from sight,
And you'll find yourself in fairyland, in a forest of soft light.
The fairies wear the petals of the poppy and the rose,
And they ride upon the dragonflies and tiptoe on their toes.
They offered me a thimble of the honey of the moon,
And they taught me how to dance the dance of morning and of noon.
But a fairy told me softly, as she sat upon my thumb,
Take nothing back with you, my friend, but the songs that you have hummed.
So I left with only music, and a smile upon my face,
And the ring is in the meadow still, a little magic place.
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Commentary
A circle of mushrooms is the doorway to fairyland in this poem. The visit ends with a fairy’s advice to bring back only what cannot be held.
In a meadow corner “there’s a ring of little mushrooms, in a circle, white and red.” “Step inside it at midnight,” and the world fades into “a forest of soft light.” The fairies “wear the petals of the poppy and the rose” and “ride upon the dragonflies.”
They offer “a thimble of the honey of the moon” and teach the speaker to dance. A fairy on the speaker’s thumb says, “Take nothing back with you, my friend, but the songs that you have hummed.” The speaker leaves “with only music,” and “the ring is in the meadow still.”