Everyone knows this story.
Edmund Dulac
The Princess and the Pea,
the famous fairy tale of the vaporous, whiny Princess who
reportedly was bruised and battered by
a very small pea,
and the Prince, poor lad,
who had searched the world over
for the perfect Princess.
Poor dejected and moody Prince.
His Princess Glass was always half empty.
What the King and Queen did on an average day,
I do not know.
I suspect the King morosely
muddled in his mead while worrying about
his lackluster son.
The Queen, I am certain, spent hours
honing her control freak tendencies,
and fanned her imperious ways.
Be that as it may,
we do know a humble pea
was ruthlessly unzipped from her pod
to be smothered under uncountable
numbers of mattresses and feather beds.
The story theoretically ends well.
It is intimated that the Prince and Princess
lived happily ever after.
What a match!
He married a hypochondriacal girl
of no substance, wit or charm.
She married a gloomy ineffectual dimwit.
Well, to get down to business here,
I wrote a little poem in praise of the pea.
She did, after all, turn the tide.
With apologies to Jack and the house he built,
and to you for staying the course, let's get on with it.
This is the pea that grew green and bright
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
This is the Princess all wet with spite
Who tossed all night on top of the pea
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
This is the storm that blew such a fright
That soaked the Princess all wet with spite
Who tossed all night on top of the pea
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
This is the morning all sunny and light
That followed the storm that blew such a fright
That soaked the Princess all wet with spite
Who tossed all night on top of the pea
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
This is the maid who put things right
On that morning all sunny and light
That followed the storm that blew such a fright
That soaked the Princess all wet with spite
Who tossed all night on top of the pea
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
This is the pea who bounced in delight
After the maid had put things right
On that morning all sunny and light
That followed the storm that blew such a fright
That soaked the Princess all wet with spite
Who tossed all night on top of the pea
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
I'll stop these words so silly and trite
Having watched the pea who bounced in delight
After the maid had put things right
On that morning all sunny and light
That followed the storm that blew such a fright
That soaked the Princess all wet with spite
Who tossed all night on top of the pea
That was put in the bed that the Queen made.
Here's our little pea where the maid,
in her haste, put her.
You can't see it
because she is lying face down,
but I know that there is a wide
and cheerful smile on her face.
The sun is streaming through the leaded windows.
It warms her back.
She believes her karma will be good.
When the room is thoroughly cleaned,
she'll be given to the gardener
who will keep her safe until next spring.
Come the warming light mixed with gentle rain,
she knows she will be returned to the earth.
She knows she will mingle with some of her family,
and that she will be surrounded in the garden
with the ruffly, tender lettuces,
the upright leeks and cloven garlic.
Her smile relaxes.
If you listen very carefully,
you may hear a short prayer of thanks,
offered up in gratitude.
best to all, e.
