From a Queen to a Princess

She was a young princess

Desperately trying to be a queen,

Be strong, independent,

Free, respected.

She didn’t like to mess around,

No jesting, no rebelling,

No royal meltdowns, few fights.

She was quiet because

She thought she was mature,

She was better,

She was wise.

And then life in the kingdom got hard.

It was never easy,

But now the stone walls were suffocating her.

She got loud and confident.

A feared ruler, she thought.

Then angry and silent,

Realizing she had been a tyrant.

The king stepped down,

So she stepped down from her court,

Her friends.

And then prince charming swooped in.

He was mature and kind,

A comfort online.

Then the king got sick.

She asked for space in her tower,

Then the prince knocked on the door,

But he wasn’t invited.

If only she had known…

Suddenly she’d grown up,

Faced with the harsh reality of kingdom life.

Now she was wise,

But she wanted to forget.

She wanted to cry,

To be able to laugh,

To have the strength to fight,

To overthrow the kingdom,

And make everything right.

She no longer wanted to be a queen,

But now she realized

She didn’t know how to be a princess.

And so she learned to unlearn,

To let go,

To be free.

She humbled herself,

Because now she knew,

Growing up is hard.

She had a new respect for her kingdom

And a new respect for herself.

She went from a queen to a princess.

And this time she'd enjoy it.