Idō _ Movement
artwork by Athiba Balasubramanian
Striving for balance in these uncertain times with a 3rd invisible element that seems to be teaching us a lesson on priorities, life, and nature.
![TOCC - White.png](https://static.wixstatic.com/media/745fd9_f648b8a7e9244fa6a4d9487fefcff279~mv2.png/v1/fill/w_113,h_79,al_c,q_85,usm_0.66_1.00_0.01,enc_auto/TOCC%20-%20White.png)
An inclusive independent journal with a focus on literature & art
We Were Told Fables And Fairytales
Lyndsie Conklin
Lyndsie Conklin (she/her) is a Montanan transplanted to Colorado, living with her husband and cat, Beans. She enjoys getting outside, being a cat mom, breakfast foods, Diet Coke, and (of course) writing poetry and erotic fiction. Some of her work has been featured in Poetry Cove Magazine, The Sleeve Magazine, and Dreamer by Night Magazine.
The book had gold-lined pages
and a patterned blue binding.
Inside, King Midas gleefully learned
about the most precious of things,
while ducklings were adopted
and fondly accepted. Illustrations
were smooth, penciled personifications
framed with yellow hem-stitches
twirling at the corners. In the night,
Hermes gifted precious metal axes
and Jack cut down access
to the Herculean heavens.
Mother wrapped us in afghans
and we agreed upon the next tale:
a tenacious red hen wishing for bread.
Soon, we forgot about the pages,
lined with fading gold,
and dreams took their place,
swirling our own fanciful illustrations
to accompany our nightly folklores.
Mother let us slumber
with that blue patterned book nearby.
And it waited for us to unfold
the fables and lessons within.