I was sheltered as a child,
by maple, dogwood, and pine tree,
I fell to sleep easily every night,
to my own cricket lullaby melody,
A special creek lead to my secret place,
My woods were the scene for adventure,
I caught lightning bugs on summer nights,
and buried shells as my pirate treasure,
I lived in the verses of a classical poem,
I day-dreamed of Arthurian romance,
I was a princess in a knight's ballad,
My life was a late night ballroom dance,
I put my faith in fairy tales,
and my heart into the ideal,
I placed my trust in heroes,
and believed happy endings were real,
I also believed in justice,
my mantra was love and equality,
I expected all people to believe so too,
and knew not that it was all fantasy.
As I grew, the world lashed my life,
tearing down faith and belief,
with prejudiced, malice, and betrayal,
and persecution without relief,
Vain promises and splintered ideals,
I sit on the shards of broken dreams,
My vision is blurred by a cloud of lies,
so that nothing is as it seems,
Against human hate I feel helpless,
like a baby bird is dying in my hand,
I drift back and forth like the ocean,
waves rolling around my grain of sand,
Overwhelmed, I have wandered the dark roads,
searching for a beacon of light,
I have seen horrors that would make angels blind,
and lost my soul in the night,
I found pleasures that no noble should know,
and gave up Don Quixote's quest,
I was seduced by demons,
and forgot what in life is best,
I gave up because I was outnumbered,
by masses filled with apathy,
I had been taught no kind of defenses,
and there existed no heroes to save me,
Restless and sleepless I sought escape,
I had become one of many a human stray,
I thought of all the animals I once took in,
I wondered what the young me would say,
In my darkness, all my thoughts turned,
back to the idyllic years of the youth,
I weighed fantasy versus reality,
and chose to believe my own truth,
I wondered how the world could be,
if everyone gave up petty schemes,
and recaptured their childhood beliefs,
and never gave up on their dreams,
Then we might all live in peace,
and even start the world anew,
with souls refreshed, our wounds may heal,
and perhaps our ideals would come true.