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Author's Notes: This poem is a lot gloomier than the previous ones and might need some explanation. It was inspired by the gothic short story "The Maggies - A Gothic Tale" written by Nyhterides . This story is about a mother whose multiple still births do not allow her to love her only living daughter, her grief finally driving her to insanity. Despite it being dark and dreadful, it is beautifully written and captures so very well the gothic ambience where beauty, death and madness go hand in hand. It draws strongly from the symbolism of colours, blue representing the dead children (bluebirds), black the only living child (magpie) and crimson, the blood that is spilled at the end. If you have a few minutes to spare, then I urge you to go and read this hauntingly beautiful tale (it's really a quick read). When you're finished, come back here and perhaps you see the poem with different eyes.
