They go out for coffee on Saturdays
the princesses, thirtyish, crowns askew,
in sweaters they knitted themselves, on Saturdays,
between talking shop, pass the sugar, shoot the shit.
There comes a point in a woman’s life
where the dragons just get smaller
or don’t come by, smoke-sniffing, anymore
or you realize they’ve all been seen
And instead there are nephews
and good books, and good works
and walks in the sunshine, and walks in the rain
and coffee on Saturdays with the women in crowns
who were never the enemy at all.
Leah Bobet’s work has appeared in several publications, including most recently Strange Horizons, Realms of Fantasy, and The Year’s Best SF and Fantasy for Teens.
Image: Cinderella, Jennie Harbour, 1921