"Let's see," said the corpse,
"I spy a large tree.
There are apples all around it,
and the men pick out the seeds.
They throw the apples out instead,
and give the seeds to The Queen.
Now, a ring!"
His face changed with the scene:
Intense concentration
underneath the gangrene.
"Under veil of a wedding,
it seems a joyous thing,
when the jewelry is exchanged,
with the heavens opening.
Sunlight melts the snow,
And the birds begin to sing,
But somehow, I still know
That evil is happening;
Apple seeds in the snow,
That won't grow in the spring,
Turn to rot, down below,
In disruption of the serene."
No longer could I act
As though this monster told me lies.
Through the act of sharing magic,
I saw truth behind his eyes.
Oh so blind I had been!
The vision blossomed in my mind:
Seeds, apples, snows, and rings,
connected by their lines.
Constellations, resolution,
and clarity defined,
gave me reason to hesitate.
Before I spoke, I took much time.
"Look at me corpse," I began,
"Just keep your mouth closed and drown.
The way you salivate disgusts me,
and defiles the ground.
I see The Queen has used the seeds
in her poison compound,
and when I gave my bride her ring
The Queen was nowhere to be found."
I heard a knock upon the door,
which grew into a pound.
The guardsmen outside
had heard my voice sound.
I sent the men away,
to the searching of the town
for the seer with no eyes,
and brambles in her gown.
"Rumpelstiltskin," I said,
and his image solidified.
It seemed he faded when I left
to send the men back outside.
"I will **** you on this spot,
if next you tell me winter died.
This is a forest, not a desert,
tell me: is my wife alive?
I threatened ******,
but we both knew I had lied.
I'd rather try to slay this villain,
with no hope that I'd survive,
than spend a minute or a moment
in a world without her eyes.
"I hope you realize
that the power in between us
is more than normal lives.
We are part of this land
Filled with winter's ice."
...And with my heart in my hand,
I purchased his advice.