In Excelsis Deo

She folds crimson
origami flowers nowadays
and tries not to think about
when she was queen.
She never makes noise anymore
when she sneaks out
to look at the moon.
"I was in the hedge maze,"
she tells her friends,
"but I think I lost my way."
Their eyes fill with
the sincerest of concern
as they pat her hands
by means of an apology;
and she is gracious,
as shown in liquid smiles
that have the tendency
to deliquesce
as soon as the spring
rains come.