Luminescence

Moonlight
Intertwined with her very hair
Her eyes shine-luminescent
But all they do is stare
At the hag in the castle corner
Holding a book of memories to her breast
The stories of old seeping into her chest1

The fair woman turns away
Pale pallor tinges green
She moves toward the abominable
The light in her flaxen hair
Dismissing the shadows keeping the other there2

The revealed opens her eyes
Conscious and dismayed
Ringing cackles from wandering commoners
Target her ears and never leave
They laugh at how the other repulses
Next to this picture of divine3

They laugh at her naivety
And how she prayed
That though she neither glowed nor shined
Knowledge would keep her well and fine4

She drops her book
And races out of sight
Tears pour down her cheeks at speed
Trying to escape her presence
Preferring the floor to her face5

The cackles die
Though she continues to cry6

The angelic and apathetic
Moves to the discarded novel
Fingers claim pages for themselves
Branding the cover with no compassion7

For all her perfection
She herself
Is another’s plight.8