The Moonlit Forest by Samantha Carr

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

​Once,   in   a   moonlit   forest,   a   female  felt  a
foreboding  fog  of her future and rested her head
against   a   felled   oak   tree.  The  lobed  leaves
caressed  her  brow, creating  a  crown of weaved
green. As she slept, her delicate  cheek absorbed
the wheels of time – the  wide  of  the  good years
and the narrow of the dry barren.   And acorns fell
one  at  a  time through the quiet air, landing in the
soft  soil  with  expectation. When  she  woke,  her
arms caught in branches and her hair was a hat of
luscious  leaves.  She  tried  to  pull  herself  away,
but   the  acorns  edged  ever  closer – their  shiny
heads  like accusatory fingers. Go, she whispered,
I  cannot  take  care  of  you. But the acorns didn’t
answer,  just waited patiently for her roots to grow.

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About the author
Samantha is based in Plymouth, UK where she is a PhD Creative Writing candidate at the University of Plymouth exploring chronic illness through poetry. Her poetry has been published in Arc, Acumen, Room, Cephalopress, The Storms Journal and Causley International. Samantha is an ex nurse who lives with complex chronic illness and neurodiversity.