“Once upon a time”. 

these wavering vibrations sputtered from her mouth into the air,

rumbling off of the warm fluffy folds of her tongue,

and into the imperceptible breeze of the air,

Swirling around the room like mystic travelers, 

dropping door to door, tickling our ears.

 

They never stayed long, like ephemeral fairies, 

swiftly shooting ripples of sparkling crystals into the ebony veil of the dark,

playing hide and seek with the elves, blinking in and out of sight, 

never peeking from the same place twice,

and then disappearing as fast as they came, 

like slinking cats sinking into the background as they slip by. 

 

These words, present only for an instant, but creating a lasting impression,

leaving their messages engraved into the fabric of our minds,

unforgettable tales prying dreams from us, feeding our souls and lust,

sticky like the glittering silk of spiders, diamonds in the night.

 

They incited us to imagine, to invent,

creating different worlds, each our own playground,

giving us thoughts, like crystal balls shattering into a million pieces,

breaking into a blast of brilliant blinding beryls,

each a glistening pearl, a new storyline, streaming out like rivers of possibility,

 

bubbly giggles escape us as we hear these words,

images of fairytales, princes slaying dragons appear,

displaying like a movie from the hallucinatory script of our eyes.

in this realm anything is possible all that is needed is belief.

 

“Once Upon a time” We chuckled at the thought of these words,

as the men slipped on the smooth shiny black ties around their necks,

patterned with beautiful specks of blue and gold, like dancing pixie dust,

and soft like velvet cotton candy, stretched from neck to waist

 

They put on their suits, perfectly carved to their figure,

like knights in shining armor trying to impress,

and they set off on their quests, doing their jobs,

seeking riches like leprechauns hoarding pots of gold.

 

Whispers of fairytales blew into our ears inciting us to escape,

and the women put on their dresses, hiding the imperfections that caught their deceptive eyes,

like princesses getting ready for a bal, the sweet scent of roses invading the air,

Like love potions marking the spot for cupid’s arrow.

 

They powdered on makeup, glittery sparkles illuminating their faces,

Like jewels reflecting moonlight onto the greedy eyes of mining dwarves,

A breathtaking spectacle of red, blue, and purple painting the walls,

and they set off in their carriages, to work seeking like everyone else.

 

The day goes on and the suffocating crushing feeling of stress entices them to forget

Their minds wander, like nomads searching for mystical lands,

and as the relentless ticking of the grand clock goes on, the women think of their prince charming,

and the men fight away the creatures of the day.

 

“Once Upon a Time” We blushed as we sat on our grand chairs,

as men swung around their canes, shimmering swords capturing the sunlight,

Vanquishing the demons of their pasts, all the while pondering,

inquiring about what else they can imagine with rest of their borrowed time.

 

The days continue to fade away as our lives slip into the nebulous haze of our reveries,

a realm where we can think again of fairytales and youth,

a place without responsibility, where our worries dissipate like ice in a desert,

like a fairy godmother taking us back in time at the flick of a wand,

 

and as time stretched, thin and frail like chalk crumbling into dust,

the hourglass grasped on to the last golden grain of sand,

and the wrinkled tattered skin of our faces filled with warmth as we smile,

nostalgic visions of our past run through our thoughts, every choice we made.

 

“Once upon a time” the eager children listened to our voice,

our jumbled thoughts being exaggerated and recollected,

anecdotes being specially picked out like our favorite flavors from a bag of candy,

“Once upon a time”. We repeated the stories of our lives.