Ephemeral Petal (a modern retelling of sleeping beauty)

They called her Ephemeral

For that's what she was

A rose petal wilting in the sun, because

Her sickness was that which couldn't be cured

Although ephemeral wished to fly free as a bird

of her hospital bed

They called her nurse Maleficent

But not because of any evil intent

Rather because they would truly lament

Their only option left

Ephemeral was to sleep until the cure could be found

To slow her sickness, keep safe and sound

The young girl, their princess

They called her their Sleeping Beauty

For sleep, Ephemeral did

In a hospital bed fitted to combat the sicknesses bid

On the princesses's life

Yet the ten days that passed were as a driven knife

To her parents

His name was Phillip

The man who created the cure

Good enough, even, that the princess might stir

Without any more sickness infecting her life

The rose petal now gorgeous flower, no longer in strife

With the condition she struggled with

They called it a miracle

Their child returned

But readers might see a lesson learned

Ten days might seem one thousand years

If it's their child in danger, a parent's worst fears

No one ever wishes to face