Once upon a time
When things were not as they should
Lived a Princess who thought things were fine and all good
Tucked up in a tower
In her room all day
No colour
No sun
Everything was grey
Nothing to brighten her dark little corner
Nothing to think of anything other
Just gloom and misery, angst and bother
One day as she sat in her tall dark tower
She peeked out the window and saw a flower
It was wild and lovely
It’s petals all full
It glistened in the meadow
It gleamed in the sun
It looked to be having so much fun
That flower it danced in the breeze all day
It took the Princess’s breath away
She felt her shoulders fall down
Her muscles relax
A little smile turned up her tight mouth
She stared until her eyes were red
They stung her some
And tears were shed
Until the night and the stars were heavenly
The princess bowed her head
She felt so heavy
Those delights though lost by nights dark curtain
Could still be seen by the Princess for certain
Her mind replayed those beautiful gems
Over
And over
And over again
How crisp
How perfect
How lovely they’ed been
The night ran long for the Princess that eve
Pacing and waiting for light to be seen
Upon the horizon
Where the flower had been
Anxious again to see it once more
To give her delight and pleasure for sure
Upon the horizon light was shining
The shadows grew long
Quite swiftly were falling
And in the meadow where the flower was blooming
Three beauties were dancing
In the meadow all gleaming
She called to the gardeners
The maidservants
The guards
“Protect these things
These precious little flowers
Build them a wall
Build them towers
I love them I want them let’s keep them as ours
Together we can live in two seperate towers
The courts they flew into a terrible flurry
The hammers
The anvils called out in a hurry
The Princess wrung her hands and paced by her bed
Loving these flowers really bothered her head
As she watched from lofty angles above
She saw tall walls
And a building take form
At last she thought with a terrible smile
I’ll have them as mine
Whenever I desire
But as the walls continued to tower
The sun was cut
And the rain could not shower
For under such careful guarding and building
The flowers began to lose all their gleaming
Their lovely buds and petals that bloomed
Turned brown and ugly
And started to stoop
The princess came to visit one day
And proclaimed with such utter dismay
“Who has taken my flowers away?”
Accusing the gardeners
The maids
And the guards
“Who has planted these weeds and stolen my flowers?
Tell me now
And tell me swift
For I know one amongst you is a thief”
The maids
The gardeners and the guards all quivered
They feared the Princess and the power she wielded
No one knew how to explain things proper
They knew the flowers indeed were rotten
(What do you expect when sun and showers are forgotten)
The Princess threw herself into a fury
She went to the walls in such hurry
Raging
Screaming
Cursing and foaming
No one had seen such savage performing
The maids held their breath
And the guards flew to arms
The gardeners ran away
Shovel in arms
The Princess took hold of the smithies stuff
She broke the tower
The walls
And the roof
And like a swimmer who takes a deep breath
The sun shone through into the darkened depth
Those wilting flowers as if for a second
Shivered so slightly
As if they’d been awakened
The Princess saw them in a new light
And knew those weeds had been her delight
She looked upon them
A tear in her eye
She turned to the gardeners
The maids
And The guards
“Help me” She said
Understanding at last
The maids
The gardeners and all of the guards
Joined in together
As if they were one
Pulling each stone
Undoing what was done
The sun it stuck like glue to those flowers
They raised up their heads
They drunk in the showers
Their petals flung out
Their colours grew bright
To look upon them was to delight
The Princess declared a brand new law
“Let all that is hidden, shine as before.
Be careful not to interfere when things are growing
Let them be, wherever, however they are blooming.”
Little Wren 