I stared into the fire

and found that I had become my shadow,

slithering through castles young and old,

who thunder about the earth in titan glory,

while morphing my bones—to click and burn—aligning with yours.

Yet-

you say nothing and lose your glass slippers,

letting your skin grow sullied by cheap silks, and colognes that make your nose burn

all the while, exchanging ruby kisses

with me to catch your onyx tears as I cling to your carriage wheel

just so you can remember that you're real

as you sell your soul to the black apple once more

Soon, as always, I drown among the darkness's light.

Battling off trolls with mere whispers and spells

while you and your black knight tread upon your prince's heart oh, so carefully

and swirl into a deeper heart of nevereverland

And what am I to say wrong?

I am the humble villager who prays for your happy ending.

The fairy godmother who shatters your misfortune.

The sword who slays your innocent dragons.

The tower that crumbles for your triumph forward

I am—

No

I’m not

That isn't what I am

I devour the praise that washes off your hands as you ruffle the hair upon my scalp

I feed off the fire that rages from your tears as I capture each worry you drown into my ear

I sew all your doubts, resting upon your ivory case, of me into the iron bars set around me

and when my invisible mass finally gains its face

it will roar to the heavens and shatter nightmares into fear

The cage that held me singes into my flesh,

becoming the wings that I have longed to flap

and when the midnight sun sets upon my eclipse

the world shall kneel as the dawn crowns my newborn flesh,

letting me rise the snow among my summer kingdom

as the queen of my own shadow!

Alas, I plummet into the light,

chained to the heart wrenching smile that pins me to your thunder

while you glide upon the tiles of your titan glory

with me to gather at your heels.

And as I stare into your crimson fire,

I found

that I was never my own shadow