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Ava Leavell Haymon.
“Year’s Turn.”

© Ava Leavell Haymon.
Used by permission.
All rights reserved.

A late summer sunbeam slanted inside

and reddened to amber. Gretel reached

the broom into corners, teasing

the dot of color. The girl’s

limber movements set the witch

muttering: Fields of grain with no shade,

knife that keeps its edge. A few words —

Bees and candles, year’s turn

growled into Gretel’s hearing,

fumbled words that twisted

the stiff mouth. Gretel saw sooty teeth.

She took a breath to ask something,

but the plaything of light

withdrew, and the dirty floor

had to be swept clean

before it was too dark to see.



Text prepared by:



Source

Haymon, Ava Leavell. Why the House is Made of Gingerbread. Baton Rouge: LSU Pr., 2010. © Ava Leavell Haymon. Used by permission. All rights reserved.


NOTE: This poem is from Why the House is Made of Gingerbread: Poems (2010), a poetic retelling of the fairy tale of Hansel and Gretel.



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