Classic and Contemporary Poetry

OLD WOMAN FAIRY, by MARY BRODINE
First Line: She dressed in tiered petticoats
Last Line: And sang through a straw.

She dressed in tiered petticoats,
Tissued and green,
And drifted her hair like a wind
That listed and flew and careened,
Leaving the air odors of almond,
Carnation and mint
And the watered, wet musk
Of weeds in the sea.
She ate from her fingers figs and wild wheat;
And when she was tired
She rode a black turtle
And sang through a straw.