Manuela Cardiga - Guilty Pleasures and Culinary Treasures

PUMPKIN SOUP

the slipper dropped
from a dainty foot
said they,
but i think
that foot
was most likely
coarsened
by the hard journey
of a desperate life,
scarred by the burning
heat of the kitchen's
cinder path

the slipper dropped
but the hand within
the matching
shimmering glove
was better suited
to scrubbing an iron
fender than to receiving
the tender kiss
of princely love

the slipper dropped
and the fantasy melted
the crystal shattered
under the hammer blows
of the ticking clock

the slipper dropped
and sinewed arms
lacking the charms
of a velvet-sweet

satin-heat
porcelain maiden's
gathered up
the unravelling 

drab rags 

of an hour's treasure

the slipper dropped
the mice abandoned
the sinking dream
and she trudged home
alone


Manuela Cardiga