That’s best to try
In the magic mirror of competition,
you’ll never win, best not to try.
You have that loose neck, goosey-goosey,
and those crow’s feet around your eyes.
With their ebony-haired youth
and rosy-lipped beauty, step-daughters
are the fairest of them all, and
face it, you’ll never be their mother –
no matter how, best not to try. But
one day, if kinder than the famed queen,
they’ll thank you for making their father
happier than a happy thing.
Kate Noakes‘ most recent collection is Goldhawk Road (Two Rivers Press, 2023). She is researching a PhD at the University of Reading on contemporary British and American poetry. She lives in London. More at www.boomslangpoetry.blogspot.