Rapunzel, untangled

Mother’s been bugging me to leave the tower
she can’t stand me moping around
I don’t mope, I told her, I just like staying home
–admiring the view, the gardens, the garden–
a lot, that’s all, apparently too much for her liking

I know you’ve heard some rumors about my hair
let me set the record straight–
firstly, I don’t have crazy long hair
and it does not gleam and glow
neither does it have magical mystical qualities

it was kind of longish (shoulder length) but I got sick of it
so I decided to shave my head one day (skinhead)
so I wear wigs now instead, I have three in total
they’re pretty funky. I like to keep it simple
but it drives mother mad (I think she’ll eventually get used to it)

secondly, this thing about a prince climbing the tower
on my hair is just insane! In case you didn’t know
my neck would probably snap from the weight
of another human being pulling at my scalp
besides, couldn’t he just use the door? It’s not
exactly shrouded in ivy; our gardener’s state-of-the-art

okay, and kinda hot too. I haven’t told mother yet
but I think I he is just f-i-n-e what some might call divine
I caught him giving me “the eye” a couple of times too
when he thought I wasn’t looking
maybe I’ll ask him out, see what he says
until then I’ve got more reasons to stay than leave

 

Photo Credit: Jef Harris Flickr via Compfight cc

Esther Vincent

Esther Vincent is a poet from Singapore, who teaches Literary Arts and Literature at the School of the Arts, Singapore. She writes poetry that resonates on both personal and political levels and believes that poetry should empower, not exclude, engage, not evade. She was co-editor of a poetry anthology, Little Things (2013) and the accompanying Teacher's Guide (2013). Her poems have been published in New Asian Writing (Nov2016), Unhomed (2016), Sound of Mind (2014), LIVEPress Pilot (2014-2015), Little Things (2013), Ceriph #4 (2011) and in Message in a Bottle Poetry Magazine Editorial 13. Her poem, "Excuse me, what is your race?" was translated into Russian in To Go To S'pore (2013) by Kirill Cherbitski. She is currently working on a new collection of poems.

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Esther Vincent is a poet from Singapore, who teaches Literary Arts and Literature at the School of the Arts, Singapore. She writes poetry that resonates on both personal and political levels and believes that poetry should empower, not exclude, engage, not evade. She was co-editor of a poetry anthology, Little Things (2013) and the accompanying Teacher's Guide (2013). Her poems have been published in New Asian Writing (Nov2016), Unhomed (2016), Sound of Mind (2014), LIVEPress Pilot (2014-2015), Little Things (2013), Ceriph #4 (2011) and in Message in a Bottle Poetry Magazine Editorial 13. Her poem, "Excuse me, what is your race?" was translated into Russian in To Go To S'pore (2013) by Kirill Cherbitski. She is currently working on a new collection of poems.

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