There was a time

When we could fly

And graze the stars

A fire in our chest

A warmth in our hearts

There was a girl

Who flew too high

And touched a peculiar sort of star

Instead of warmth, she felt chills

In place of fire, her heart froze over

And the girl was no longer

A girl,

but a Queen.

She learned to cool all she touched

And her people learned to scream.

But still

There was a fire

Burning, searing, scorching,

Melting

That icy heart slowly

but surely.

But then one day,

As she looked out into her kingdom,

And watched the scarlet sun rise

Her shoulder began to bleed

And too did her stomach

And her hand

And her chest

And that fire

That burned so hot

It snapped shut

Its gaping maw

And plunged her heart into darkness

And as she lay

On the cool, blue floor

Her crimson ichor a pool

Her ivory gown stained

With the red of her passion

She drew a breath

And another

And another

Until she could no longer

Make a cloud of ice appear abover her lips

Until her eyes fluttered shut

Until her hands fell slack

Until her heart quit its restless beat

And the Ice Queen

Princess of Winter

Queen of Snow

Empress of Ice

And everything in between

Was just another memory

A story

A cautionary tale

Told by tired nursemaids to sleepless babies

And grandmothers to their grandaughters

To never fly too close

Or you might touch a star

That will ice your heart

And maybe your soul

Until you are nothing

But a shadow

Watching your world go by

The children with the fire in their hearts

And the ache in their limbs

Running and chasing each other through

The colorful streets

The young vendors and the old merchants

With their wares and baubles

The women with silk in their hair

And a light in their eyes

The elderly with an arch in their back

But a spine that is straight

You will watch and wonder

When your icy heart will

Succumb to the flames of your soul

Or when you will be devoured

By the darkness.