Snow White Grotto :
Dawn Tefft
Oh, holy mother of dwarves, priestess of economy, protector of misfits, of
missing teeth, housekeeper for toiling grunts. Oh, porcelain queen of the
underbelly, waiting to be revived by the tongue of your un-chaste, groin-fed
prince. He is only revived into believing in trying by your cold, sweet
refusal. What will melt your love for birds? What will pull your heart
away from the trees and back into your cheeks? My lady of denial, your
finger is not a perch. Your dark hair is so tempting, swinging never out of
place. I will plant you in my garden like a pomegranate seed so that you
may not leave.
Dawn Tefft holds an M.A. in English, recently taught composition and literature courses at Columbia College and Roosevelt University in Chicago, and is currently a PhD student in Creative Writing at University of Wisconsin - Milwaukee. Her poems have been published in The Cream City Review, Rhino, Mudlark, LitRag, Wicked Alice, among others.