‘Midst the misty mountains, in a forest dense,
There stood an ornate stone tower surrounded by elysian gardens,
Inside the tower lived Rapunzel– a ravishing princess,
Spanning several yards flowed her cascading tresses.
Imprisoned she was by a witch wicked,
To enter the forest people dreaded,
The witch had locked her ever since she was a small girl,
And had demolished the connecting stairwell.
To reach the tower atop the witch would command Rapunzel to let down her hair,
Rapunzel was scared –to escape she did not dare,
How she longed to visit the world outside,
But within the four walls of the tower she was always confined.
Her only friends were the birds and the bees,
With them she sang songs of melodies,
Her mellifluous songs drifted across valleys far,
‘Twas heard by a handsome Prince from a kingdom afar.
Riding a horse the Prince came in search of the voice he'd heard,
Crossing territories and borders, unguarded,
Intrigued he was by the forest enchanted,
Baffled, he stood by the tower isolated.
Stealthily, he saw a witch climbing the tower with the help of princess’ hair,
Mesmerized he was by the princess– her beauty beyond compare,
Once the witch left, he called out to princess Rapunzel,
And eloquently spoke about the world beyond the tower to the dainty damsel.
Rapunzel was impressed by his striking personality,
Escaping the confines the world he described she wished to see,
Though the Prince expressed his wish to marry her,
She decided that giving it time would be better.
Rapunzel put forth some terms and conditions,
Agreed to marry him only if she was allowed to live sans any restrictions,
A queen she wished to not just by name,
Through her wit and intelligence she wished to help people and rise to fame.
Once the Prince agreed they both acted fast,
They hatched a master plan and overtime outwitted the witch at last,
Rapunzel chopped off her hair to climb down the tower,
And rode away with the prince for a life better.
Rapunzel did not just settle down to marry,
She studied hard and earned many a degree,
And also honed her musical skills– her dream passion,
The understanding prince was patient and in no hurry for their union.
Praised she was for her mental acumen,
Her strategies and forethoughts were admired by all the king's men,
Her abilities proved that women were no less,
And their voices ought be heard for a kingdom's success.
When the time was ripe, they walked down the aisle hand in hand,
The entire kingdom rejoiced, the wedding was grand,
Sharing all responsibilities the wise couple ruled for several years with glee,
The kingdom rose to fame with wealth and prosperity.
Gowri Bhargav is a certified storyteller from Kathalaya Academy. An Engineering graduate who is highly interested in arts, she has always had a passion to tell stories. She regularly conducts storytelling events for the benefit of school children. “Gowri Storyteller” is her YouTube channel dedicated to the art of storytelling.
She has also been a contributor to “Talking Stories Radio” - a programme dedicated to the art of storytelling by East London radio. She is an avid reader and an aspiring writer who enjoys weaving words into poems and stories. She has won several online contests conducted by literary platforms like Penmancy, Artoonsinn, Asian Literary Society and Chrysanthemum Chronicles. She has been a part of several anthologies. A few notable ones include - 'Around the world - landscapes and cityscapes’, a poetry anthology by 200 poets around the world by Sweetycat press, Airavata by Mayaakatha, Anklets in my Hands - a poetry anthology by Let’s make stories, 'A Call from Beyond' - audio poetry anthology, and 'To Frida, With love'- a chapbook of vignettes, 'The Aniconic Cosmic Dancer', a poetry anthology published by Chrysanthemum Chronicles.
Gowri also shares her writing on her website
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