Fairies Dance

The mushroom,

Golden brown cap,

Creamy ruffles beneath,

Long, slim white neck,

Stands guard

Over the magical cave.

I kneel to peer inside.

Anybody home?

“You’re too close!”

My daughter warns,

Her whisper

Heavy with knowledge

And warning.

“You’ll scare them away!”

I bow to her 3-year-old wisdom

And back up,

Creeping over the pine needles

To give “them” room.

My daughter sits

Unmoving,

Still as a rock,

As an acorn,

As a mushroom.

We wait.

“Shh! Here they come!

Do you see them?

Do you see them?”

And looking into my daughter’s

Excited, sparkling eyes,

Sharing in her awe,

I, too, feel the magic.

I whisper back.

“Yes! Yes! I see them!”

She smiles her sweetest grin,

And holds tight to my hand.

And the fairies

Dance for us.