DOLLS reader Joan Elizabeth Paul recently sent us the following examples of her creativity. “I have been making fabric dolls for several years,” she said. “Sometimes I like to write a poem to go with each doll.”

She added that her fabric dolls have wire armatures. “Ranec the Pirate is approximately 15 inches tall. He holds a 3D-printed saber and antique glass bottle. How the Flute Woos the Snake is about 8 inches tall, seated. I made the flute from wood, and I found the snake and basket at a local craft store.”

The Flute Player
(How the Flute Woos the Snake)

The snake begins her sinewy dance
when tones float in the evening air
Her head sways in rhythmic trance
Flute and snake become a pair

They move as one, entwined together
Of outsiders they are unaware
Mystically taking each other’s measure
In a strange harmonic affair

As the notes recede and melt into the night
the snake has accomplished her feat
She seems to sigh, as a lover might
Being contented and replete

Ranec – The Pirate

My name is Ranec, I’ve been bought and sold
by men of wealth and hearts stone cold
But a slave I did not want to be
I dreamt of freedom, and the open sea

A law abider I will never be
I prefer a life of infamy
I seek out danger — I’ll open that door
It thrills me to the very core

One day I’ll hang at the end of a rope
But for now I’m living without a yoke
No chains will hold my soul earthbound
My spirit soars and will be found