Say goodbye to Cinderella
Hello to Snow White
Calm your bones
still your tone
Match the mood
of stars at night
Hats alone do not make witches
Pumpkins light for Jack
Say goodbye to Cinderella
Winter's coming back
Discover how it all began with the story behind the story as you wine and dine at the palace for a reenactment of the King's Ball. Behind the place gates is a nobleman's house perfectly preserved to replicate the scene of Cinderella / Ashyputtle and her mistreatment by parental figures and new siblings. Engage in a great debate about the role of those transformatory figures and the presence or absence of magic in a young woman's life.
See the hazel tree, pigeons, doves, pumpkins, mice, lentils, silver, gold, and glass that may or may not have played a part in Cinderella's tale. Question the encounter with the prince as you relive and reflect on the chase and conquest from a range of gender perspectives. On the Eastern Promenade you get to decide which of your party's entourage will get to be the royal highness's dancing partner! Or, attend a more modern rendition on the Western Promenade as various young gentlemen try to win your affections!
Finally, settle in for a dinner fit for the royals of old while you are pulled away in pairs to hunt through the castle and the nobleman's manor for clues to the greatest mystery of all. Was Cinderella a long con, a scam over an extended period of time? Who was in on it? Who switched sides or was a double agent? Find out, in this epic espionage reimagining of Cinderella!
As the clock decides the hour
So the maker cedes her power
Moments large in midnight cadence
Ruin poor maids' reputation
Dance with her and get no name
Follow her and soon be shamed
Search for her and find her mother
Sisters hovering, absent brother
Spells and wishes rush delivered
Leave the clock chimes ten beats withered
Photo taken by Lauren Goldman at the Mystic Seaport Museum in Mystic, CT. To learn more, go to https://www.mysticseaport.org/
My dress is blue tonight because the pale ice shell masks the fire within. I am the phoenix of the family and from the ashes of our situation, I will rise. The shoes were made of gold, the fairy godmother said, for glass would shatter quicker. First, gold is grown, and then it's spun, the metal melting thicker guns than those that will be used to hunt me when I flee.
Originally written 6/10/19
Wings flutter, but I don't touch
Let them drift as they may
Nature takes its course and we
are not meant to intervene
A net, a cage, a jar, a fence
None of these save the butterflies
from the wind
We can only watch
Should one crash into us, we will not
make it into an art exhibit
Capturing beautiful creatures
is as futile
as saving butterflies from the wind