Pretty Promises

Part 2 of Marionetta's Dance.

I was just a girl of eight years old
My mother took me on her knee
She said, “This man has news indeed
“To set us free, to set us free.”

He asked me “Can you dance for me?”
And in the meadow beyond the trees
That windy day, in youthful joy
I danced so free, I danced so free.

Such pretty promises he told
He spoke of our condition
And of this dream within his heart
He spoke with such conviction.

Swimming with the zephyrs
Dress billowing in the breeze.
Such words of wisdom uttered
I followed him with ease.

Such pretty promises he spoke
Of all the future would hold
Of dancing forever, forever
Not hungry, needy, cold.

Goodbye, goodbye my mother,
My dear, you loved me well
But all those pretty promises
In my heart now swell.

Such pretty promises I hear
Such dreams of glory yet to be!
She said, “This man has news indeed
“To set us free, to set us free.”

Author's Note

Marionetta's Dance is a story to be told in seven parts. This poem is preceded by String Dance. In Pretty Promises, Marionetta remembers how she was ensnared by her captor.