Fairy Tales Retold

The name is Golman.
Ya got it? Say it.
Okay that is close enough.
Quit staring already;
take a picture or something.
What I’m not big and
green like you thought?
Well you muttons,you
got something to learn.
I heard you said
“he’s as dumb as a rock”
did you ever hear this?
If you live in
a glass house,
you shouldn’t throw stones?
I’ll even tell you why..
You believe big Gruff’s story.
So typical of a mutton
to lay it on thick.
Here is how it really went…

I chose this spot
For a good reason
Quiet, nice, far from everything
Plus she’s a beauty.
She rarely creaks, and if
She does it only squeaks
When I sleep it’s
Like I’m hibernating
LEAVE ME ALONE
That’s all I ask.
Well these three brothers
They thought they could
Pull one over on me.

I woke up,
Cleary off one’s rocker
“Tip tap tip tap”
So I thump
“it’s only a baby goat”
More were coming I knew
I might as well wait
“one more—he’s the biggest”
Well this “biggest” Gruff
I admit, was bigger
Than any mutton I’d seen.
He may have been strong,
Enough to push me off, but
What do you think trolls
Do all day?
We do nothing but think
And I thought revenge

You’ve heard half already.
Those goats sure were
Going to get fat. Mmm
I waited. I can sometimes…
But this time I learned
I’ll teach you a lesson
Take what you can get.
And what I could get,
Was that little goat.
The same one who though
He could outwit me.
Well now his belly
Is full of shrubs.
So I’m gonna get
That little scrub.

Yeah I got him
And it took a while
For the muttons to notice
And when they did
They didn’t suspect me
For I “was thrown by
The mightiest Gruff,
Into the shallow lake,
Never to be seen again”

That’s the thing with us
Yeah, about us Trolls.
We don’t need to bluff
About no stupid Gruff
We just chill and rejoice
Knowing we made
The Better Choice.

Marissa Brown



Fairy Tale Poem: Sleeping Beauty

Prince Philip: The Chauvinist

The beautiful princesses
Always beautiful always musical
Always witty always pure
What about us?
Telling my story like Aladdin,
The Prince of Thieves

Prince Eric, Prince Philip,
Prince… Charming?
Charming. Even the name.
Charming. What a laugh.
We are men.
Always in the back

She was a baby.
A small, tiny baby
Fists as big as walnuts
As pink as a tulip
She was a baby.
But I was betrothed
I was a child myself
And this was my wife
She was a baby.

The baby was granted,
As we all know,
The gift of beauty,
To be self absorbed
The gift of music,
To hear herself speak
The gift of…Death
Death? Of course
Just my luck







Of course Death
Not only will she be
Beautiful, have a pretty voice
Death. How appetizing
Saying it is bitter
Death, like chewing citrus peel
Causing blisters in my mouth
White sores, white burning sores
That is what I want
I always wanted

No arrangement, it’s binding
Need to feel free
To grow into a man
Not a prince
To feel free
How can I not choose
My path is my own

Sixteen years of being free
To fence to dance
To ride to study
Handsome, intelligent, humorous
I can take any woman
I can choose my woman
A woman I see
The one in my dreams
The voice that I hear

You are betrothed
Betrothed? I need to choose
I need to think
I need to ride
Betrothed. That’s not me
Not what I want
I did not choose










I know you.
Oh she was beautiful
Her voice was mesmerizing
Her creamy skin
Her long neck
Follow that neckline
Down to where
Every man’s eyes roam
Those long slender legs
Those hands, soft and small
And that voice.
Her beautiful voice

You know she’s the one
When the animals follow
When she talks to them
A little crazy
But that is the one
Especially when she speaks
To those animals
“We’ve met before”
I say to her
“We have?” she asks
“But of course
don’t you remember?
We’ve met before
Once upon a dream”
Cue the charming smile
Charming. What a laugh
My best pick up line

I danced with the girl
She was beautiful
Her voice was stunning
She was like a Rose
A Rose who can sing
I can hear the petals
Soft, delicate, pure
Oh her voice
Clean and beautiful
Like a Rose





I want her
What is her name
She runs off
Agrees to meet
In her cottage
In her cottage.
Now this is a woman
In her cottage

Father should be happy
I found a woman
She makes me feel free
My father cares…
About a union
Between two kingdoms
“Now father you’re
Living in the past
This is the fourteenth century!”
She is a peasant
A beautiful, musical peasant girl

I knock on the door
I know I look dashing
More than handsome
She will swoon over me
How can she not
But…where is she
The beautiful girl
Her cottage is empty
Except for...what is that

In a dungeon
How did I get here
Chains around my wrists
And in comes trolls
Now that was never
In my fantasy
The trolls I mean
The witch is here
She reveals the story
A true fairy tale
The beautiful Rose
Is actually the princess
My princess. My true love
Will only awaken
With a kiss
I want to slit
That long, ugly throat
Doesn’t lead to anything
Doesn’t have a heart
Doesn’t have love
My eyes don’t roam
If only we know
Like Romeo and Juliet

Pink, Green, Blue
Those lights comfort me
Free me from the chains
The fairies who give gifts
The gift of beauty,
That wonderful face
The gift of song,
That lovely voice
And the power to sleep
When Death tries to enter

My two gifts
Shield of virtue
Sword of truth
Onto the road
To true love
Of course the road
Is full of deathly vines
A forest of thorns
And what is a story
Without a dragon

The fire burns my body
I feel myself flaming
The blisters form
Red, burning blisters
The shield of virtue
Guards my body
It’s as if it has
A mind, a spirit
The sword of truth
Picks up my arms
I feel a force
Through my arm
A beautiful voice
I throw, into the heart
The heart that never was
Up the stairs
The hundreds of steps
My luck, so many steps
Note to self
Invent the elevator
She is up there
At the top
Top isn’t an exaggeration

But my complaints are gone
When I see her
So beautiful and pure
Her lips as red as
The Rose in her hands
I feel pressure
True love’s kiss awakens
I better be the one
For the pain
I was put through
The fourteenth century
Sexual harassment isn’t an issue
But I’m careful
Lips close, a light kiss
On her mouth

True love conquers all
So I’ve witnessed
Fairy tales, princesses
Witches, fairies
Don’t forget the prince
Without us, the women
Would not exist
The story comes to an end
And yes, we scored

Teresa Pesa