past the forest clinging to dark
beneath the hill where lived the fey
in the woods where sings the lark

oh the red-haired Queen of May
immortal goddess dressed in green
beneath the hill where lived the fey

not beyond the limits of men’s machine
amid the ravages that comes with time
immortal goddess dressed in green

she feels pains of the changing clime
losing much that she’d held dear
amid the ravages that comes with time

for her children she shed a tear
so growing ill from this fever
losing much that she’d held dear

because men did disbelieve her
they did not heed the warning signs
so growing ill from this fever

immortal she sits and sees declines
past the forest that clung to dark
they would not heed the warning signs
in the woods where sang the lark

[Mark A. Fisher is a writer, poet, and playwright living in Tehachapi, CA.  His poetry has appeared in: Reliquiae, Silver Blade, Trouvaille Review, and many other places. His first chapbook, drifter, is available from Amazon. His poem “there are fossils” (originally published in Silver Blade) came in second in the 2020 Dwarf Stars Speculative Poetry Competition. His plays have appeared on California stages in Pine Mountain Club, Tehachapi, Bakersfield, and Hayward. He has also won cooking ribbons at the Kern County Fair.]