Morgan le Fey by Morgan G. Cairns

“An old soul,”

he says fondly,

and I smile with all my teeth.

Brother,

I am no old soul.

I am she, changeling, daughter

of the fae,

born with a storm in my blood.

I build friends

from the ashes and shadows,

hand thrust through the Veil

at the three A.M. crossroad.

No iron, no sword, no noble aim

can slay a dragon-hearted woman

when she knows the names

of those who wish her

dead.

Bio

Morgan G. Cairns is a poet, editor, and library worker. Her writing has appeared in Corvid Queen, The RavensPerch Magazine, and The Game of Nerds, and is forthcoming in The Academy of the Heart and Mind. If she is not writing, she is most likely listening to music.

Author's note

I’ve loved Arthurian legend for as long as I can remember. Though I usually prefer the heroes in those tales, I decided to give voice to the oft-villainized Morgan le Fey in this poem, incorporating other elements of fae lore into her declaration. (No, I am not named after her—but I don’t mind sharing my name with her!)