Slowly, she learns
to take their flattery
with a drop of dragon’s blood.
Her thin lips become
numb to the kisses
of would-be apprentices,
her hands closed
to the clasping of beggars.
With time,
she gets used to the idea
of parroting her father
for desperate Princes
and fallen Kings. She cultivates
fly-traps, mimicry and deception:
become a perfect echo: learns
to hide in shadows.
Day by day, she quietly
gives up hope
of ever being more
than her father’s daughter.
Megan Arkenberg is a student in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Her work has recently appeared in the Lorelei Signal, Beneath Ceaseless Skies, and The Heron’s Nest. She edits the fantasy e-zine Mirror Dance.
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Posted on March 26, 2009 in Poems
18 Responses to “THE SORCERER’S DAUGHTER • by Megan Arkenberg”
Comments
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March 26th, 2009 at 7:06 am
This beautifully well-crafted, mellifluous and musical poem almost dances. Yet I find it hard to respond emotionally to it because I am just left wondering who such a person as “she” might be; because I know nothing about her situation except her political aristocracy. Is this about a real person others know of? What, within her situation cut her off from feelings of her own? Not knowing royal situations myself, perhaps its just my assumption that some royals can maintain their own identity and development.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:23 am
Hmmm. Poor girl. She has my sympathy. But – couldn’t she do something about it?! Break out of it somehow?
Nicely done, Megan.
March 26th, 2009 at 11:38 am
Robin- Thank you for the comment.
Roberta- Thank you. This poem is a bit of reaction to a whole subgenre of fantasy poetry with titles like “The Wizard’s Daughter” or “The Alchemist’s Wife,” etc. I’m annoyed the tendency of the fantasy genre (and, to be fair, other genres as well) to define characters in terms of their relationships with others. This, “The Sorcerer’s Daughter” is more a type than a specific character.
March 26th, 2009 at 12:09 pm
sweetly painful
March 26th, 2009 at 12:46 pm
I would like to know more about her…the possibilities are tantalizing. Is she human? Is she an arachnid? A carnivorous plant, maybe? Or is she analogous to a state or political system?
March 26th, 2009 at 12:47 pm
What a gem… Lyrically musical and shot through with the misery of might-have-been. I gave it a 5 and I don’t do that very often!
March 26th, 2009 at 2:48 pm
Nice lyrical flow and voice.
Well written and easy to read.
–dj
March 26th, 2009 at 6:58 pm
Agreed about lyrical and easy to read flow. A poem has to bottom line entertain, and this did that well. I don’t like the subject matter. It seems like a story of a kid living under their parent’s shadow, which is a story I’ve heard a few too many times.
The dragon’s blood and princes saved it for me, keeping the entertainment up with some whimsy.
March 26th, 2009 at 10:06 pm
Beautifuly crafted fantasy poem. Thanks Megan: this one will linger a while in my mind!
March 27th, 2009 at 4:08 am
Wow…I love this. I believe this short, beautiful work is my favorite thus far on this site.
March 27th, 2009 at 5:33 am
I really enjoyed this. I would LOVE to see more pieces about her in the future. While I understand that she is more of a “type” than a character, you gave enough for this reader to want to see her develop and grow (and possibly rebel). She would make a good series.
March 27th, 2009 at 8:49 am
I would love to see a story about her some time. It was a compelling poem and made me want to know MORE! Sad, too. Poor girl!
March 27th, 2009 at 5:34 pm
Megan – Do you mean annoyed by defining characters in terms of the relationships TO others? Stories, characters, are always relationships WITH others. Is this the development of a “type” of official ambassador?
March 27th, 2009 at 8:00 pm
Roberta, I’m not sure I understand the last question. Do you read a lot of fantasy fiction? If so, you’ll understand what I mean when I say there are characters who have NO motivations, characteristics, personalities, or desires outside of what those of the same family/race/etc want. Some of these characters are even written about only in relation to other characters: for example, the woman who is only called the sorcerer’s daughter throughout the entire story, as if she lacks a name of her own. This poem is about that type of character.
“Stories, characters, are always relationships WITH others.”
Are you saying one can’t tell a story about a character on a desert island? Real people aren’t defined only by their relationships with others; fictional people shouldn’t be either.
March 28th, 2009 at 9:27 pm
I think I got what you were going for right off the bat, Megan … a woman who laments being seen only in the shadow of others and in terms of what she is to those others, rather than being seen as herself, an individual. I like it a lot. Write more!
March 29th, 2009 at 8:18 am
Megan – The significant fact in a story about a character on a desert island is that there is no one accompanying that character on the desert island. It’s about the lack of others and the usually unwanted aloneness. If it’s wanted aloneness, it’s about having escaped from others. The emphasis on aloneness points to the missing others.
Of what type of dreamer is such a woman who has no motivations, characteristics, personality, or desires the fantasy?
March 29th, 2009 at 12:34 pm
“Of what type of dreamer is such a woman who has no motivations, characteristics, personality, or desires the fantasy?”
My point exactly. I don’t know why people write that kind of character; I think because it takes too much effort characterize them. This poem is my characterization of the un-characterized.
Jack London’s short story “To Light a Fire” features only one character (in a snow storm rather than a desert island, though the same rules apply), and the story does not emphasis aloneness. The protagonist is a fully fleshed-out character even without relationships with others.
March 30th, 2009 at 4:18 am
nice one, Megan!