Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in Wonderland to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
Every full moon on the lakeshore, a ballroom fills with light,
With chandeliers of fireflies and a floor of silver white.
The swans arrive in evening dress with feathers neatly combed,
And the frogs in bow ties gather from the reeds where they had roamed.
The owl is the conductor, and the crickets make the tune,
And the dance goes on for hours beneath the watching moon.
A little girl in a nightgown crept out to watch it all,
And a swan took her by the hand and led her to the hall.
They danced a slow and silent waltz across the shimmering lake,
And the ripples formed a pattern that was music for her sake.
She woke in bed at morning with a feather in her hair,
And she never told a single soul, but she knew the magic was there.
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Commentary
On full-moon nights, a lake becomes a ballroom. This poem lets a child watch, and then join, the most graceful party in the animal world.
“Every full moon on the lakeshore, a ballroom fills with light,” with “chandeliers of fireflies and a floor of silver white.” “The swans arrive in evening dress,” and “the frogs in bow ties gather from the reeds.” “The owl is the conductor, and the crickets make the tune.”
“A little girl in a nightgown crept out to watch it all,” and a swan leads her to the hall. They dance “a slow and silent waltz across the shimmering lake.” She wakes in bed “with a feather in her hair,” and “she never told a single soul.”