He Asks Me If Fairies Are Real

by Deidre Braley

HE ASKS ME IF FAIRIES ARE REAL

So yes:

what if fairies are real?

Who am I

to snub magic

before a crouching

child, in whose hands

fistfuls of flowers and

moss come to

dangle, an earthen offering

of shelter

for the lost nymphs

and dryads

of the forest

beside our home?

Maybe childhood

is not the lie

and adulthood

not the license to

kill [wonder]

and though we’ve been taught

to look to those

before us, when at long last

our wizened heads become

the eldest, we’ll have no one

to look to but the children

and then we’ll let them

mentor us

in the ways of fantasy

and solemn

compassion

and in this fashion

we’ll return to Eden,

to the truest

creation

where reason and

the science of logic

are just outdated currencies

of a bygone era

and where those who can still be enchanted

will reign.

So yes:

who am I to say

whether fairies are real?

DEIDRE BRALEY

Deidre Braley is a freelance writer and editor. She lives in Maine with her husband and three children, and most days can be found savoring an overly cheesy bagel or drinking a second cup of coffee while working on her weekly column, The Second Cup. Her poetry has been featured in The Way Back To Ourselves literary journal and Maine Women Magazine, and her essays have appeared in Aletheia Today, The Joyful Life, and The Truly Co., where she serves as the editorial content director. Deidre is a strong believer in the power of poetry, picking roadside flowers, and skipping the small talk. You can find her on Instagram @deidressecondcup.

Her debut chapbook, The Shape I Take, was published with Bottlecap Press in 2024, and she is represented by Embolden Media Group.