Tea Leaves

Surreal/nonsense-ish poem inspired by portions of Catherynne M. Valente's The Orphan's Tales: In the Cities of Coin and Spice.

Tea Leaves

-Geneva Willis-

He brewed tea-leaves in her heart,

and from them was born, within her chicory-felt shoe,

a tea-leaf baby.

Love and nurture of a tea-leaf baby,

within the curvature of a delicate, slipper-felt shoe,

however,

does not make tea leaves live.

So under a moon they placed her,

Tea-maker and shoe-maker together, in prayer

that somehow,

their tea-leaf baby might grow, and cry, and live on.

The star-mare felt pity and bit holes through her

shadow-flanked expanses.

Stars poured from the spaces, and one fell to the

tea-leaf baby,

granting her once absent healing.

The life from the tea-leaves now transferred

the love from the brew,

and the nurture from the sweet, little blue shoe,

the tears of the star-mare,

and lovers wishings unfulfilled.

Tea leaves did grow in the rain of star-children,

into the heart of a little,

ever so delicate,

tea-leaf baby.

Author's Note

The 'story' part of this poem is NOT copied from Catherynne M. Valente's novel, only inspired by it.

Reviews

[Peter Joseph Swanson]

Delightful poem! Fun to read!