Of Fairy Night

An urgent hand pounds at my door
Rending sweet silence, eaves to floor
Rude intrusion I do abhor
Whatever for, whatever for?

Through open door, I peer outside
But no soul’s there this eventide
Just light-struck wings I can’t abide
They slip inside, they slip inside.

Resolved, I shuffle to my chair
Pick up the book left lying there
As wee, fair folk flit through the air
They’re everywhere! They’re everywhere!

They congregate about the light
Intent on dancing through the night
Their frenzied moves bring no delight
And no respite, and no respite!

I douse the light, cover my head
And blindly hobble off to bed
Leaving but darkness in light’s stead
I pray they’ve fled, I pray they’ve fled.

Settled within the cotton sheets
I hear the drone of soft wing beats
About my head a horde accretes
All hope retreats, all hope retreats.

They settle o’er me like a shroud
This writhing mass, this roiling cloud
Demand in voice so true and proud
They speak aloud, they speak aloud!

‘Give back to us our blessed light
Or you’ll not rest this fretful night
Through circumstance of dread and fright
You’ll fear our might, you’ll fear our might!’

I vow to honor their request.
For hope of gaining needed rest
I must endure this fairy fest
It’s for the best, it’s for the best.

And now beneath the light once more
Dance fairy shadows on the floor
I slip to bed and close the door
And soon do snore, and soon do snore.

When sun announces a new dawn
I slip from bed with weary yawn
And hope the fairies have withdrawn
To field or lawn, to field or lawn.

In parlor now, behold the sight
The aftermath of their delight
Resentment blooms from fairy sleight
Of stolen light, of stolen light.

Note on this poem:
The monotetra is a new poetic form developed by Michael Walker.
Each stanza contains four lines in monorhyme (the lines have the same end rhyme).
Each line is tetrameter (four metrical feet) for a total of eight syllables.
The last line contains two metrical feet, repeated.
There is no limit to the number of stanzas.

Stanza Structure:

Line 1: 8 syllables; A1
Line 2: 8 syllables; A2
Line 3: 8 syllables; A3
Line 4: 4 syllables, repeated A4, A4

Poem: Copyright, 2008, by Lorna Thomas