Halcyon

fabled fragments

oh no,
here come the reflections
rattling inside my walled, puny brain.
retrospection is a curse
for those who never learn
how to leave.

there was a listicle of reasons
neat, convincing
explaining why we should have continued
our days of pretence
instead of inviting snow
to adorn on our grief.
tears stream down
my veneered grin.
am i a showgirl,
or what?

just say it once
that you loved me too.
maybe, just maybe,
it would pull me out
of the careful illusion
i painted to survive myself.

and then, maybe,
just maybe,
i'd admit
there was a time
a young princess lived,
her heart already in fragments,
when a handsome prince arrived,
borrowed it,
loved it just enough
to heal it,
then dropped it.
stomped on it.
and left
because
staying was never
part of the fairytale.