​Ella (Mary Beth Ella Gertrude) by Peter Devonald

A large tree in the middle of green woodland. Large white text reads: Ella. Smaller text reads: Discussing disabled characters in fairy tales and folklore.

Ella Enchanted couldn't get the Glass Slipper on,
let alone imagine dancing the night away until midnight;
swollen feet and broken dreams, she stayed indoors and slept
her life away. Her Fairy Godmother gave her beautiful dreams,
of coaches made of pumpkins, horses that once were mice,
footmen who were all lizards and a coachman who remains a rat.
Her dirty rags transformed magically into a beautiful dress,
an amazing hallucination dream, where everything is possible.
Night terrors they call it, night sweats, another symptom in a land
where illness is queen, but what of her handsome king, waiting?
Another day another symptom, spinning webs of falling dreams
from worn down spindles, so much pain to be a sleeping beauty,
horrible power of invisible diseases, creeping, crawling, crying,
wishing on a purple star, one day she’ll find her happily ever now.

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About the author:
Peter Devonald is a UK based poet/screenwriter who has lived with disability most of his life. He is winner Waltham Forest Poetry 2022, Heart Of Heatons Poetry Awards 2023 & 2021, joint winner FofHCS 2023 and second in Shelley Memorial Poetry 2024. Finalist in Tickled Pink ekphrastic contest 2024, highly commended Hippocrates Prize and Passionfruit Review 2024, shortlisted for OxCanalFest Poetry 2024, Saveas & Allingham 2023. Poet in residence Haus-a-rest, Forward Prize nominated, two Best Of The Net nominations and widely published including Broken Spine Anthology, London Grip, Door Is A Jar, Bluebird Word, Vipers Tongue, Voidspace and Loft Books. 50+ film awards, former senior judge/ mentor Peter Ustinov Awards (iemmys) and Children’s Bafta nominated.

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