Magnolia Dreams

Do you ever think of me, and what could have been beneath the magnolia tree? If you had lingered longer and dared knelt beside me?

I would have held you, and let you wrap my hair round your fingers. Simple pleasures, ones lost in your world of finery.

And do you miss the mystery? Do you miss the edge? So close, you were, to knowing the touch of a woman devoted. A servant fallen. Truly, wholly. Heart opened.

I think of you, and what might have been. Had I abandoned my station and cast aside fear of retribution. I could have been yours, if just for a night. You could have been mine.

A dream come alive in your lingering gaze, then lost in one moment. Dashed, beneath the magnolia tree.

~ Magnolia Dreams

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About the poem:

This poem was inspired by a fictional maidservant who has fallen in love with the lord she serves. Perhaps the moment she speaks of, beneath the magnolia tree, is purely a figment of her imagination. Perhaps she’s blinded by her love and her lord never offered a longing gaze at all. It doesn’t matter to her, though. She’ll always think of what could have been had he chosen to see her heart and sit beside her, beneath the magnolia tree.

Author’s note:

I’ve been working on my novel several times a week lately, and am going mad that I can’t share my work along the way! It’s been tricky to get excited with my characters and scenes without being able to actually post about them. So, I’ve decided to write poetry and flash fiction scenes inspired by very minor or unnamed characters from the world I’m creating. That way I can stay in the zone, exercise those creative juices, and share the “flavor”of my work without giving anything away. I’m going to give it a try, at the very least!

© 2023 Samantha Burgett
Photos: my images