Shall I Tell You A Story. Poem by Sandra Kavanagh Josefsson

Shall I tell you a story,
of the girl who lived in the woods.
Some say she was a blacksmiths daughter,
who loved to dance among the trees and buds.

She lived in a little cottage by the lake.
Her home was surrounded by the wild animals and birds,
They doted on her and she would make,
all kinds of treats for them, her wards.

At night she would sit at the window,
looking out to the moon.
A cup of tea on the table,
some honey on a spoon.
She kept to herself and was very quiet.
She seemed to be smart and bright.
She was able to tend the land,
and fend for herself and take a stand.

One day a stranger came to the neighbourhood.
A tall and spritely man.
He was quite taken by the girl.
He was enamoured by her long brown hair.

In a short space of time, the countryside was looted.
By a dark stranger on a black stallion.
He stole jewels and brightly coloured pearls.
He threathened with a gun and his breath smelt of rum.

People were afraid, so the sheriff was called in.
He dredged the land up and down.
Trying to locate the evasive stranger.
Alas to no avail.

Then one foggy night as the sheriff took the carriage home,
the stranger came to attack.
This time not to the sheriffs woe,
The sheriff was able to load and
shoot his foe.

As he fell of his horse and fell swiftly to the ground.
Nothing could be heard, not a single sound.
The sheriff went over to check if he was alive,
And was really surprised to see it was not a man but a girl,
the blacksmiths daughter.

There she lay on the ground, her brown curly hair
lifted by a gentle breeze.
Her mask had fallen of to reveal a beautiful face,
with eyes of velvety blue.
But the light was gone.
A drop of blood lay on her rosy lips.
What could have made her do so wrong.
It is said she was bewitched by the handsome stranger.
He turned her heart to stone,
and now it is said her crying ghost
roams the land and is heard on the nights
when the full moon shone.

Verse: Sandra Kavanagh (c) .