First published in Issue 9 (Fall 2002) of Ancient Paths literary magazine, "Fairtyales and Dustballs" was a 2002 Pushcart Prize nominee.
Fairytales and Dustballs by M.J. King
Sometimes the light hits the sky like moonbeams scattering fairy dust. Sometimes, but not very often, we look up and take time to notice. I wanted to slay dragons and save princes, but instead I wash clothes, again! I listen to bored people create tragedies, always searching for those fairytales. I dust the furniture every week, the same dust, the same motion. I rush through work, money for my time so I can buy groceries, only to work them off at the local gym. I petition for the Apartheid in Afghanistan, not really free since those women aren’t. I do it again for animals in Gombe, children in the Appalachian Mountains, wishing for some magic, some fairy Godmother to save the world, just the world! I grocery shop on Tuesdays, go to church on Easter, and hope for peace on Christmas. I cry for my birthdays, size 8 jeans, Oil of Olay and thicker glasses. I worry about not having children, having children, and other people’s children. I miss college, my grandparents and the way I used to have my entire life ahead of me.