Cinderella's Clock



“Dream on
Dream until your dreams come true”


Touched by a fairytale's wand
her dress of ashes and abuse
is transformed into fashion couture
that bears a label of expiration.

Steps and stones may accommodate glass.
But feet must dance to a rule book’s tune
or a timekeeper’s gift of pseudo class
will be unveiled under a liar’s moon.

“Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears.”


Mysterious wears jewels well
in candle light and flirting.
Cinderella walks a fine line
of honesty and revelations.

The dour minutes continue to tick
upon the face of the jealous clock.
No dreams will unwind or trick
its mean pointed hands to balk.
              
“Sing with me, sing for the years
Sing for the laughter, sing for the tears.”

A midnight chime announces
it is time to return to soot and ashes.
A hasty retreat and tearful goodbye
leaves a prince with a shoe and no answers.


©Susie Clevenger 2012


Kerry at Real Toads challenged us to create a pastiche.

pastiche [pa-steesh, pah-]
noun
1. a literary, musical, or artistic piece consisting wholly or chiefly of motifs or techniques borrowed from one or more sources.
2. an incongruous combination of materials, forms, motifs, etc. taken from different sources; hodgepodge.

For my hodgepodge I used Aerosmith's lyrics to dream on, a mixture of rhymed and non rhymed lines, photo art, and music.

Kerry's Wednesday Challenge ~ pastiche

At Real Toads Fireblossom asked us to repost one of our poems. She said something about choosing one of our best and give it another ride around the web track. I didn't know about best, but I chose this one because I actually wrote one with some rhyming that I thought worked pretty well. I am no fan of writing rhyme because I am not good at it. Every attempt sounds odd to me because it reads like...well, like I was simply trying to find words to rhyme. So with this one I give my pen a high five for effort!

Fireblossom Friday ~ Simply the Best

Comments

Kerry O'Connor said…
I love your approach to this pastiche: the entire post with both visual and auditory media becomes the whole. Even your Cinderella tale could be a pastiche of traditional folk-lore made relevant to this era. One thing that stood out for me was the idea that couture has an expiration label - it seemed so obvious to me once you had said it: the timeless piece of clothing would do retail no good - got to keep selling through every season. Now that's the price of capitalism!
vivinfrance said…
You have found some wonderful phrases to adorn your fairy tale: ashes and abuse; honesty and revelations; dour minutes; a rule book's tune.....
Jinksy said…
I do like the Cinderella painting you created here, and the shoe and no answers is applicable to many situations...:)
Susan said…
"her dress of ashes and abuse"

And such a jealous temporary escape! Brilliant poem with relevancy as well as pleasurable rhyme and powerful images. I am such a lover of re-visited fairy tale.
LLM Calling said…
a pastiche within a pastiche, wonderful
Mary said…
I really like what you did with this. Indeed we all must sing on.
Marian said…
Aerosmith??? yowza!

i don't know, the dress of ashes and abuse really got to me.
Kay L. Davies said…
I love the poem, and am blown away by the art. Gorgeous!
K
Ella said…
I love the layers and layers you built upon! This is amazing~
Your art and your words-so well done!
I'm in awe :D
Kerry O'Connor said…
Reading this poem again, I am struck by the amount of thought and careful layering of the different elements that went into the making of the whole. I hope readers appreciate that writing is as much an art as any other.
i rarely write rhyming because i am just terrible at it ~ this is an exceptional poem with your pastiche and the rhyming is spot-on. really LOVE it, Susie!


dani
Hannah said…
You've brought the Cinderella story up-to-date and I agree with you, what an effective and pleasing use of rhyme!! Thank you, for sharing this, Susie!
Helen said…
I echo the 'high five' .. Lovely writing.
Ella said…
A wondrous offering to revisit!
YOU always enchant and show us the true heroine marches onward~
Sreeja said…
beautiful....Susie you have a gift to take the readers to a different world....
Anonymous said…
and now I've got an earworm, Susie! Musical and well-spun ~
hedgewitch said…
A classic tale becomes a modern parable, and parallel, to all the fleeting artificiality of our own times, and the transformative power of character, as well. An excellent piece, Susie.
Marian said…
somehow this strikes me as far more nuanced on a second read, with some distance from it. i think the first time i was just surprised by the Aerosmith and maybe it distracted... now i see the layers of ash. very compelling, Susie.
Kathryn Dyche said…
Who would have thought Aerosmith and Cinderella could coexit in such a beautiful way. Love what you did with this, incredible.
Unknown said…
You know I'm a fan. Love the mixing of a classic rock ballad and a classic love story / fairy tale that come together and form a new expression of poetry as the synthesis. Brill!
Fireblossom said…
I think you succeeded marvelously with this one, Susie!
Sherry Blue Sky said…
What an intriguing form and I adore the refrain. Wonderful, Susie!
Herotomost said…
I dont know a pastiche from a mustache...but if this was my mustache, I would look awesome...lol. I love the use of the lyrics and this ditty has sharp edges and so many memorable lines. Glad you brought this out Susie...enjoyed it immensely.
Peggy said…
I enjoyed this and liked thinking of it as a song with a refrain. Some excellent visual images in this. Thanks for posting ti once again.
gabrielle said…
This is such a consummate and compelling retelling of the Cinderella story. With playfulness and sting, you skillfully debunk the pablum of class and gender myths that permeate our culture.. Glass slippers and glass ceilings. For most the dream remains just that, a dream—as they remain mired in a cycle of poverty and exploitation. Your poem stops short of the fairy tale ending which is so seductive.