I followed her down into the wood

My footsteps pained, careful, silent

Muffling a scream at the thorns that sprang up in her wake

I passed through sunlit corridors

Moss soft beneath my bleeding feet

Leaving stains of crimson

Until it grew so dark that the stars died in the leaves

The canopy so dense I didn't know the day.

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I followed her into the clearing

To the tower.

Saw afternoon paint it gold and red and fairy tale perfect

As her voice broke through the still

Crying " Rapunzel."

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I hid amongst the briars, waiting

A tangled fall of braided copper

Muttered ascent and murmured voices

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Laughter through the wood

Echoing a falsity

So I followed her when she stepped out again

Tired and happy and hating herself

And watched the young man watch her

Biding his times

His prize ripe for betrayal

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I followed her home

Palms sticky with sap, twigs in my hair

Heard her crying in the dark

Not understanding what she did and wishing she could care

Greeted by her cat and her garden

The cabbages that condemned her

The neighbors that tried her patience

Opened an old wound, poured on the salt

And for that, they will call her "witch."

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A/N I've always been fascinated by fairy tales, and recently went on a binge where all i wrote were retellings, mostly in poems. Here is one of them. I'm not exactly thrilled with it myself, but take it as you will. Suggestions will be most appreciated.