In the Cave of My Mind

Last Slam Prompt:2006 POET'S CHOICE - You may write your poem in FREE VERSE (35 lines or less) or use the form of your choice. If you use a form, please specify what form it is. Note: The poem has since been lengthened slightly.

As children, most of us had a secret hiding place, or a spot we went to get away from our families, our problems, our ordinary lives. It might have been a place in the woods, a fort in the yard or basement, a roof of the house, under the bed, or some imaginary place - or maybe reading a book or writing a story was a means of escape for you. Write a poem about the special place of your childhood/adolescence, and, if you want, a particular event/incident you recall that made you seek it out.

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In the Cave of My Mind

When everyone laughed,
I, the brunt of their joke,
learned very quickly
not to speak my true thoughts.

But in the cave of my mind,
no one could hurt me.
No one could jeer
at the stories I fashioned,
where I was a princess
astride a black stallion,
who tossed its long mane
and arched its fine neck,
as we galloped across
miles of emerald fields.

In the land of my dreams,
dragons shimmered in greens.
They flew me about
Then we dipped down our toes
in the gentle warm seas,
while visiting dwarves
always plucked at their beards
whenever I kissed them.

And oh, how these friends
were awed by my powers,
for I could throw magic
at any who crossed me.
I could churn fountains
into the crests of high peaks,
or with a wave of my hand
cause a rainbow to tremble.

Whenever I whispered
all ears turned my way,
and the leaves of trees
lowered and bowed,
for I was that potent,
my magic that fierce,
though I never did use it
since everyone loved me.

You see, there I was clever,
courageous, and grand,
in that forest of fantasy,
in the cave of my mind.



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