Maze
For Ellie Hoovs' Unofficial Wonderland Poetry Prompt Challenge
Trap me in yew and tell me:
At the centre is a surprise.
This is not a time for strategy.
I should run as fast as I can to claim it!
But where?
A path lies ahead of me.
A path lies behind me.
To the right, to the left?
The way is shown but direction?
Absent.
Where will I end up?
Is it in a clearing with an arbour and a lecherous king?
Is it in a place where a semi-bovine being takes a cigarette break?
Is it a dead end where I end my days over and over again?
Should I just find the exit?
I choose not to run.
Labyrinth time is boundless,
Tunnelled and tall.
The maker of this maze thinks they've won
With their clever design, frustration in mind
But they have forgotten one thing:
I am armed with secateurs
And I am a topiary master.
About the Creator
Keep reading
More stories from Rachel Deeming and writers in Poets and other communities.
Center Stage with Gina C.
*** I'm keen to republish the interviews I did for my series with Vocal creators. It's been a few years and I thought it might be nice to revisit these wonderful conversations. I'll be releasing them one at a time for a few weeks/months.
By Heather Hubler6 days ago in Interview
Comments (13)
I adore mazes, as long as time is not short… this captured the bewildering choices of mazes with a twist at the end.
Haha! What an unexpected and clever ending! Wonderfully done, Rachel!
Well written
Well-wrought! Those who seek a prize will find only a forlorn minotaur. Those who seek a way out will find the self, and perhaps free a path for the poor creature.
This was wonderfully clever and pulled me in right away. I loved the ending lines!
Edward Scissorhands, is that you? Lol. Semi-bovine being made me think of a minotaur. I have no idea why. Loved your poem!
I was going to say, just keep turning in the same direction & you'll find your way through. But if you have a pair of pruning shears, I say have at it!
Love the ending!
Haha! That’s one way to escape a maze! Great stuff Rachel. (Reminds me of cutting jigsaw pieces to fit when I was a kid!)
Dear Master of the Topiary: this poem is wonderful indeed!
I had never heard of the word, secateur either....but glad they would work in sheering away the trap!
Secateurs is a superior word choice 👍
Love this! I could really picture myself in your maze. The secateurs are a stroke of genius! Take that, maze!