Blood Poem IV
Jo Walton
The princess stands garnished in velvet and pearls,
She is precious and lovely with guinea gold curls,
But the dragon sweeps down on defenceless young girls;
You can't trust anyone these days.
In diamonds, Andromeda, chained to the rock,
With her hair pinned in combs, in her best party frock,
Oh, they've given the monster the key to the lock;
It'll all come out in the wash.
The maiden wears emeralds, she's so very pretty,
They've told her her sacrifice saves the whole city,
She stands trembling, and brave men shed tears out of pity;
It makes you wonder sometimes.
There is blood in the earth, there is blood in the corn,
There is blood on the moon, there is blood in the dawn,
There is blood every time a new person gets born;
No need to fuss about it.
Jo Walton is the author of four fantasy novels, the most recent of which, Tooth and Claw, won the World Fantasy Award in 2004. Her latest novel is an alternate-history mystery called Farthing, due out from Tor in August 2006. She feels that being asked her favourite fruit is the hardest thing to answer since forced to pick a definitive best friend at age six. Her favourite fruits are tangerines in winter, cherries in spring, raspberries in summer, and sweet red juicy Bartlett pears in autumn. She comes from Wales, but lives in Montreal where the food and books are more varied and when you go out for breakfast they give you a huge pile of fresh fruit on the side instead of baked beans and black pudding.
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