by Sariah Meeker In a faraway place,
There was a woodcutter with dust in his face. He labored with diligence. Yet, some days, he hardly earned a few cents. But back in 1808, This was enough to get food on your plate. He longed for a love, Someone fantastical, sent from above. One day, while scouting for a new tree, He laid eyes on the most beautiful woman he ever did see; Her long, dark hair swayed like a tree on a windy day; Her cerulean eyes twinkled, much like a bay; She walked with the rolling gait of a mare; And yet, she was truely there. The answer, it seemed. The woodcutter’s face beamed. He followed her deep into the wood, The flora too thick, he hiked as far as he could. After a moment or two, The woodcutter didn’t have a clue Of what to say to his maiden fair, For he couldn’t show off much flair. The lumberjack gazed at the sunset, Knowing his home he must get. ‘Twas no great challenge, arising before the birds the next morn. As he retraced his steps, her beauty haunting his mind was a burden to be bourn-- (Though, not one he minded much) He imagined her glinting smile and gentlest touch. Just ahead a woman bent down, picking bunches of daisies clustered in a patch of sunshine. He eyed her greedily. “Her love will certainly be mine.” He crouched behind a boulder, Brushed off a stray leaf off his shoulder, Ran a few fingers through his tousled hair, And recklessly stepped into the sun, ready to put himself out there. “Would you, dear maiden, accept my lowly hand so I may be your groom?” She nodded, her lustrous eyes dampened by a quilt of gloom. Never before and never since has one wordless answer left fate so displaced. He frolicked home, with a grin plastered on his deeply tanned face. “Where shall I find enough wood for a finest gift? I must need at least a ton!” The days ran into each other as every enterprise returned fruitless, until one-- A red oak containing the marks of 100,000 sunsets and the whisperings of countless zephyrs Of all the wedding gifts ever made, the woodcutter wanted this one to be better. Each sweat-ladden axe swing cut the tree nigher to its next form. (You may decide if it was transformed or deformed.) At last a bed frame lay before the woodcutter's eyes. “I am ready for my wedding and my bride.” Not yet a fortnight passed before the maiden of the forest walked up the candle-lined aisle. The giddy scent of azaleas clinging to her gauzy dress could be known for a mile. The woodcutter beamed in his modest suit, smelling of fresh wood, as always. All about the maid, neighbors she knew not trapped her in a social maze. After the wedding went as wished, ‘Twas time for the woodcutter to offer his gift. This is where the story splits. People will say what they may, But I shall tell you what my eyes told me that strange, summer day. In an instant, the whimsical lace fell away, revealing a giant, woman-thing-- Her ears too pointy, her legs too long, her skin too green. “HOW DARE YOU TOUCH MY OAK TREE !!!” Her scream echoed with the timbre of rushing rivers and horrible dreams. “You shall pay for your sin!” She plunged her hand into his breast, His heart, still dripping with blood, she did wrest. The woodcutter keeled over, his skin cold to the touch. Though the dryad may have ended his last breath, ‘twas his greed which proved too much So, dear children, hear me now when I say Dryads walk among us this day. Never take more from the forest than you need. And, at all costs, avoid cutting any oak trees. Comments are closed.
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LRHS Literary Magazine StaffEditor-in-Chief:
Alejandra Jones Senior Editors: Sariah Meeker Lee McCormack (fall) Artistic Editor: Bryson I. White (senior) Instagram Editor: Rania Brown (senior/fall) Editors & Staff: Sophia George Blase Harriss Meaghan Kelly Chloe Meeker Adrian McCall Liliana Palermo Estefania Quintino(spring) Katelyn Ranheim Maria Rodriguez (spring) Mario Rodriguez (spring) Livia Weekley Faculty Advisor: Ms. Sarah White Spring 2024 Table of ContentsArtwork~"Beyond the Storm" by Kennedi Ward
~"Forest at Night" by Richard Bui ~"Dulce Tentasion" (Sweet Temptation)" by Maria Rodriguez ~"High Priestess" by Yamil Hernandez-Santiago ~"Echoes of the Mind" by Estefania Quintino ~"Tigre Real" by Mario Kelecic ~"A Glowy Night" by Richard Bui ~"Modern Musings" by Alejandra Jones ~"Maximum Efficiency Soul" by M.T. Foxtrot Poetry~"Trauma Loop in the Cradle of Life" by M.T. Foxtrot
~"I Am the Daughter of My Father" by Mary Boyce Williamson ~"Devout" by Belladonna ~"Line" by Mary Boyce Williamson ~"Tangled: A Villanelle" by Anonymous ~"The Last Nineteen Trumpets" by Sydney Giles ~"The Dryad and the Woodcutter" by Sariah Meeker ~"Void Awakening" by Zamir Ruck ~"It's Not the Ends, Just the Means" by Liliana Palermo ~"What You See When You See Me" by Kira Steverson ~"Deux ex Machina Moritur in Sola Cordis" by Kam H. ~"A Secret Society" by Sophia George ~"Fine" by Victoria Cook ~"Forgot My Watch" by Deniz Kara ~"Leaves" by Leo Marx ~"Paradox" by Leo Marx ~"The Pit" by Quinn Kelleher ~"The Freedom of a Jellyfish" by Kayla Ruffin-Winn ~"Platonic Nature" by Riley Butler ~"Life Imitates Love" by Claudia Wright ~"Towards Shore" by Caitlyn Kiefer ~"A Lover's Sun" by Anonymous ~"Bloody Halberd" by Zamir Ruck ~"To Know Me is to Know Them" by Reagan Rawls Fiction & Prose~"Fireworks" by Lemon Pepper
~"Twenty-Four Hours" by Lauren Williams ~"Fear" by Tiger Royal ~"A Soldier and a Nurse Share a Smile" by Walker Anderson ~"Mental Photography" by Heaven Robinson ~"Felled Crows" by Meaghan Kelly ~"A Few Thoughts on the Matter of Sign Writing: A Tribute to Creative Writing II" by Sariah Meeker and Benjamin Bradley ~"To Live for the Hope of It All" by Lily Fields ~"Two Sides and One Sun" by Ilya Kalinin Fall 2023 Table of ContentsArtwork~"Jellies" by William Lemaster
~"Mini Landscape" by Richard Bui ~"Leesville Lion" by Bryson White ~"Zuzus bday 4 skool" by Rose Van den Troost ~"A Study in Winter" by Chloe Meeker ~"Les Plaines Liminales et Étranges" by Bryson White ~"Night Sky" by Richard Bui ~"Sunrise" by Elizabeth Cawley Fiction & Prose~"Retribution Through Strife" by Nikholas Svajlenka
~"To a New Frontier" by Nikholas Svajlenka ~The Storm's Echo" by Meaghan Kelly ~"Lines" by Meaghan Kelly Poetry~"Sailor" by Caitlyn Kiefer
~"Walk-on" by Caitlyn Kiefer ~"Connection" by Riley Butler ~"The Sun Rises in the West for it Falls in The East on Many" by Nikholas Svajlenka ~"What if" by Sariah Meeker ~"Dark Cold Alone" by Jeanne Baker ~"Deceiving Heart" by Jayana Russell ~"The Life of a Wave" by Sophia George ~"The Melting Snow" by Sophia George |