I wait —
For the courier with 
An invitation, ivory parchment lettered
In a queen’s hand.

I choose what to wear,
Black brocade? Grey silk? No,
It is a christening,
Something softer, less somber.
I choose
Pale rose in honor of the child.

I wait — 
Staring at stones; standing
At my window watching, stranded in
Anticipation.

I think of gifts,
Wisdom, beauty, long life. No,
Others will have thought of those;
I will give her the gift of never being
Left lonely or feeling slighted,
The gift of being loved.

I wait —
No one comes.

I choose a different gift.

[Deborah Sage is a native of Kentucky, USA. She has most recently been published in Eternal Haunted Summer, Literary LEO, Fairy Tale Magazine, the 2022 Dwarf Stars Anthology, Amethyst Press All Shall Be Well anthology for Julian of Norwich, Eye to the Telescope and Lothlorien Poetry Journal, among others. She has been nominated for the 2026 Best of the Net anthology and was the poetry judge for the 2025 Fairy Tale Magazine Prose and Poetry contest.]