Joringel

I woke in some other place.
My quest to find her led me
up avalanches of time,
through treadmill circuits.
In defeat, I listened for
the moment that would show
where grew the amaryllis
with its rubied flesh: one dewdrop
a diamond eye guiding me
back to the castle where
gate after gate sprang open,
the portal of every cage…
The maidens' wings fell away.
They re-entered their bodies,
singing with reborn voices
as they streamed into the day.
All but one… Her hand on a sill,
Jorinda turned to me — her eyes
undimmed by eclipse, sunlight
wreathing her unbound hair.