for the imprisoned

happily ever after, sweet trinity of utterance

evidence of dreaming, of love, of laughter

an ending satisfactory, yet my tale tells a difference

what if rapunzel leapt from her tower?

what if rapunzel seized her own fate?

imprisoning isolation driving soul sour,

sprouting fierce determination to escape

what if rapunzel fought for independence?

what if rapunzel found her way through the forest?

what if rapunzel never needed a prince?

what if rapunzel was a nonconformist?

fairy tales boast happiness and hope

yet with every word weave imperfect ideals

that abandon reality with false ways to cope

and though illusion attracts, it fails to heal

perchance a new story might inspire the bound and blind

to break the shackles and battle for themselves

once upon a time