once upon a time,
there was a princess running through a darkened wood,
and she couldn’t tell if her feet were touching the ground.
she met a knight in shining armor among the trees,
and he told her he knew a safe place,
so she followed him back to his glimmering tower.
she didn’t see him lock the door.
as the days wore on into winter,
he nailed boards to her windows
(to keep out the cold, my princess)
but they kept out the sunlight as well.
and as spring came,
and the windows remained boarded shut,
she realized the shining armor
was not hiding a warm touch beneath,
and there was nothing to her hero
but cold, hard metal.
the princess bloodied her fingers
scratching tally marks into the walls,
and so he said her hands
were too dirty to touch him.
the blood couldn’t wipe away the tears,
and the tears couldn’t wash away the blood,
and the princess knew that the woods were never so dark
as that lonely tower in the dead of night.
so,
as the last sliver of sunlight came through the window,
she broke through the boards and,
with bloody nails and bruised knuckles,
jumped.
i know it feels like falling now,
but i promise, babygirl,
freedom smells better than roses
Eve Annajane Writes, LLC 