independent poem-4, Hoshi

Happily Never after 

The Naga Cinderella did not have a happily ever after

Her mother died when she was six, then came stepmother

Stepmother was cruel, she made Cinderella carry water

And oh! Her little back hurt, the well was so far away

She had to carry firewood from the deep forest

While her little sister gossiped with other women

Then came the festival, and busy was the stepmother

The old lady got the best necklaces and shawls

She packed her daughters basket with wine and meat

And early in the morning, she gently shook her awake.

All the while Cinderella had to clean the chicken coop  

Feed the pigs and all she got was very dirty

When the sun rose in the east, her heart sank

She was very late; all the young people had set out

But Cinderella did not despair, she got her little zhie

Dusted her mekhala and slung her basket on her head

She would at least get firewood, if not wild vegetables

Even if she did not win, she would spared of the shame

So she tried to get the straightest wood, to fill her basket

But everything had been collected, so she sat down and cried

Then a passing young man asked her ‘why are you crying? Are you in pain?’

‘I’m not pain, but I fear I will be shamed if I return empty-handed’ she said

Hearing this, the pale young man instructed Cinderella not to look up

But she was a curious girl, so when asked not to she did

The sight before her was terrifying, a giant white snake leaping

From Branch to branch, swiftly filling her basket with fire wood

scared she pretended not see, until the young man told her to look

but before parting he said, ‘I will come to take you away tonight’

The horns sounded the end of festival; all she could do was return

Her basket filled with bounties, firewood beautifully arranged

That night Cinderella was the clear winner, it was a joyous occasion

But she feared sleep, begging her friends for help 

So they put a big log against the door, scattered salt in the holes of the hut

Cinderella was made to lie in the middle, and one by one

All twenty of her friends lay on top of her, so the serpent may be deceived

At midnight he came knocking ‘Cinderella I have come for you’  

The log was moved without a sound, and one by one the friends were lifted

Each time he muttered, ‘not this one, not this one either’

All the while, poor Cinderella held her breadth, hoping her would leave

He left; with her in his arms, and no one head her cries as they fell in deep slumber

Thus she lived happily never after  

1.Mekhala: a wrap around worn by Naga women,
 each tribe has a specific name for this garment;
 but mekhala is one common way to address it .

2.Zhie: Naga flat-blade machete. it come in all sizes.