[Submission] Sleeping Beauty
She will sleep through the war, through every tremor, every roar
‘Sleeping Beauty’
She will sleep through the war,
Through every tremor, every roar,
She will sleep through it all,
Dreaming of masquerade balls.
Frozen somewhere between death
And life, lost in a land without breath.
Locked in the dream country – no key.
Strapped to a bed made from a tree.
A blooming tree is now a prisoner’s bed,
Her bed, but she is not wed - more undead.
The bed knows what pinned her there.
It has witnessed it all, the rotting of her care.
Encased in glass, her and bed are sealed.
Under the covers, she has been peeled,
And is too frightened to wake and break,
From Illness, sadness, regrets and his weight.
“Wake up! Wake up!” – a fierce refrain.
“Bitch, witch” – shake them off – those chains.
Sleep is no escape, no magic spell or cure.
The truth will still lurk, waiting for sure.
Dreams won’t save her, nor hide her away –
She must rise, face the light of day.
The issues, the pain, the ghosts of the past,
Reality’s toll will find her - at last.
Stop twisting, turning, searching for peace,
There’s no comfort, no endless release.
She must awaken, the world needs to see.
The power of her anger, her flee.
Let her rise with the strength of the storm.
A wrath long hidden but fiercely warm.
It’s time to act - to lift this sexist spell,
And shake the world with her yell. 
This work was submitted to the White Lily Society for the limited time submission prompt “fairytales”
E.H. Norrie lives with her family in the Kingdom of Fife, rural Scotland, where she grew up surrounded by vibrant characters, beautiful landscapes, and the challenges of life - all of which enriched her imagination and love of storytelling. Diagnosed with Developmental Language Disorder (DLD) from an early age, she found this aspect of herself to become a driving force behind her art and writing. Despite earning an MA in English and International Relations from the University of St Andrews and an LLM in Human Rights Law from the University of Strathclyde, she still considers creative writing and illustration the most powerful ways to raise awareness of DLD and share the experience of neurodivergence. An aspiring writer and illustrator, E.H. Norrie is passionate about expressing empathy, kindness, and love as essential elements of the human experience.
E.H. Norrie’s journey to writing was an unlikely one, beginning with a deep reluctance towards language. Yet, her love for world-building and imaginative play slowly rekindled her creative spirit. This sense of innocence and wonder from childhood is something she now seeks to capture in her work. While her focus is primarily on wiring for children, she has also started exploring novels for adult audiences. The central aim of her work is to express empathy, kindness, and love as essential aspects of the human condition.
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