Grimhilde

Her story didn’t have
a fairytale ending:
the almost prince is dead
and the evil mother won.

The Snow White in this version
isn’t prettier than she is
or more deserving than she is
or kinder than she is.

This Snow White is luckier than she is
to have a father that didn’t let her down,
didn’t step back when the evil mother
made an appearance,

and a prince that swoops in with a magic kiss.
But heroes don’t always
come to the rescue. Sometimes,
you have to fend for yourself.

The only place left for her
is a throne of thorns.
From now on she plays the evil queen
in someone else’s story.

Nicole Zelniker is an editorial researcher at The Conversation US and a recent graduate of the Columbia Journalism School. She has published several pieces of poetry and two short stories. Read more of her work at nicolezelniker.wordpress.com.

Find more by Nicole Zelniker in the Author Index.

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