Rapunzel

ancient tale of the fairy kind
told one last and final time
locks once promising freedom

only offered crushing restraint
exposure of the clever masquerade
incomplete.

Rapunzel cut her hair
in a dream
she didn't have
that never became.

discarded music
that birthed a long forgotten age
just memories and fantasies
and lullabies that slowly fade.

hope for escape
became a termites’ feast
the horse called in lame
for the third time this week!

apologize, justify
excuses demean
folly and insincerity
typically routine

royal pursuits weaken defenses
the keep no longer safe from siege
where distant walls move ever closer,
ever faster on the darkest days

heroine rewards
are merely dealers’ gains
undeserved tragedy
benefactor of misguided dreams

heroic extrication
not quite tangible
not ever the same

as what she
truly
fiercely
craves
needs