Dusk

The lamp that stands beside the

Is not yet lighted to warm the

Of the blueish, opaque light

Through the curtains of late afternoon.

From outside come unfamiliar

And weary children interrupt their

While in every corner of the

Fairies awaken at the end of day.

Shadows gathering among the

Rustle and murmur to childish ears,

And from the pages of their

Come all their favorite characters.

First, industrious Rin Rin Renacuajo,

And Mouse Pérez, scurrying to survive,

Then, casting even deeper shadows,

Blue Beard, who killed his seven wives.

Given life in darkest corners,

Somewhere in a distant

Puss-in-Boots strides through the

And the Wolf stalks Little Red Ridinghood.

In a deep dark forest

With chilling howls, the handsome Prince,

On his white charger, rides

Sleeping Beauty, who awaits his kiss.

The children’s voices, silver and pure,

Form a chorus that speaks as one:“Then they went to the ball and

Poor Cinderella all alone.“She wiped away her flowing

And scrubbed the kitchen pots and

Watching the dance leaping

Somber shadows and glowing coals.“But her fairy godmother soon

With a beauteous gown and, in a thrice,

From a pumpkin produced a golden

With prancing steeds, once six white mice.“She gave Cinderella a lush

And a glass slipper she quickly donned,

She turned ashes to flashing

With one wave of her magic wand.”Abandoned dolls tossed on the carpet,

The listening girls sit in thrall,

The light grows pale and dark creeps

As lowering evening shadows fall.

Wondrous stories of fairies and

Are alive with ideas and fantasies,

They open to childish imaginationsA whole world of possibilities!

Stories born of times long gone,

Wing through the dark of ages,

From powerful, early Aryan

To diminished future races.

These stories are told by

When children can’t get to sleep,

The essence of poetic

Is the mystery they keep.

These stories have proved more

Than tomes of the

And with every

Have entertained our ancestors.

O tales of elves and ghosts and

That people the dreams all children have,

Time buries you forever in our

And man evokes you with his love.