The Hedgerow Fairies

Where have they gone,

the hedgerow fairies 

in their harebell hats?

I used to see them sitting

under their leafy roofs 

stitching their summer dresses

of poppy and mallow petals

with long silk threads 

catching the summer sunlight

as the smiling spiders spun.

I miss them so,

the hedgerow fairies

in their harebell hats.

I used to see them collecting

armfuls of meadow sweet

to stuff their nighttime mattresses,

making doorways in their new

toadstool homes with sharp stones.

Maybe they’ve gone underground

to escape the passing cars and tractors.

Maybe they only come out at night now

and stitch and stuff under the moonlight.

I don’t know.

But I miss them so,

the hedgerow fairies

in their harebell hats.

First published in Vox Poetica, December 2016

http://voxpoetica.com/hedgerow-fairies/