Make It All Turn Out That Way

it should have been the letter to the king

I dropped in the tisket or tasket

in the green and yellow basket

in the thrush bright spring

with seven kinds of sealing wax

banded with gemmy rainbows

buttercups, someone said

under the chin.

and someone would have found it

wrapped it up in tissue

and sent it on right then

because we dreamed it that way

everytime we were swinging into the clouds

and Grandmother said, come in girls,

it’s going to rain.

then we were going to live in a house

with rose patterned wallpaper

and a thin green stripe

another of pure silver on each panel.

but the letter wasn’t delivered.

I dont know what happened that day.

call it fate, an unsatisfactory story.

but we still dream of glory;

morning glory, stay

and in the retelling,

make it all turn out that way.

mary angela douglas 20 june 2019