The Fairies

The Fairies

..and she watched him as he walked away again.

Each time for just a little bit longer, she thought.

He blames her, he said.

But she can't carry all the blame.

It takes two to tango most people say,

But she believes that this is more applicable.

For it was written long ago by a different man;

"After love is tarnished - nothing stays the same."

They both lingered over apologies like a spoiled child lingers over broccoli.

So young, in love.

Loving so freely, so unconditionally.

He's walking away because she's at him again.

Where did she go? He thought.

My lover? My friend?

He knows leaving always makes things get worse;

She needs to get it together,

these theatrics rehearsed.

Although apologies may have been a good idea for them then,

It was a suggested solution,

so stubbornness wins.

No romance, nor harmony.

No laughter, nor joy.

Neither one of them truly enjoying their lives.

Strangers in the strangest part of their relationship.

The place in which they can no longer relate.

The place where their young love has now turned to hate..

A place neither one of them wanted

and neither one of them did create.

Their debris was scattered all over the place.

And it resembled cockroaches crawling on the walls,

Scattered memorabilia of only God knows when...

A time when they were more than lovers, they we're best friends.

The darkness brings solitude,

but not like the comforting kind.

Along with it comes the demons,

the goblins and the ghosts of twilight.

By this point the apologies have contradicted themselves

and have come to settle upon the Shelf of Nevermore.

They floated royally like dust that has never been airborne before.

And now, as if they were making a grand entry,

The Fairies fly shoulder to shoulder,

giggling child-like at each others whims.

Doing cartwheels in the air.

Dancing gracefully like Fred Astaire.

This couple sits quietly;

watching the little ones settle in for a long night.

Memories scroll through their minds like mice running for their lives

in a wheel in this cage called Life.

Many wasted moments, wasted feelings,

memories of arguments passed.

Stuck in time, swirling in a circle,

fighting for something that probably won't last.

No one will ever hear of any of their cliches like the what-could-of-beens or the should-of-beens,

And sadness settles in around their have-nots

and Misery shakes her head.

The Fairies becomes their main focus,

both of them watching each take flight.

Reminiscences of the simpler times filled their souls,

And with awe they watched the Fairies dance in the moonlight.

This dusting of their past was so painfully penetrating,

Each walking away with shoulders hunched down,

Heavy from the weight that they carried as memories of them unfolded all around.

They used to stand together tall,

hand in hand, testing time,

way back when.

Overcoming the simplest of the devil's tasks.

Ready to battle from one to the next.

Now it seems all good deeds are too little and much too late.

With stellar confidence they relied heavily on each other.

This was their destiny, this was their fate.

And they just knew from the start no man could rip apart what God worked so hard to create.

And in this place of memories past,

they wore their armour here ready for the next blast.

They guarded their love and home with their titanium gear.

Like a castle protected by fire breathing dragons;

Their love was untouchable and this was quite clear.

And within that protection they locked down their souls.

Their love has never been questioned,

their commitment never grown old.

Time took its test,

Temptation served up its share.

And Cupid played dice with their love, neither party aware.

They became victims of Cupid's Game of Hearts,

A game that relies on your wit as well as your smarts.

All jaded now and betrayed by self-worth.

His courage became arrogance,

Her confidence hit the dirt.

She used to count the minutes he stayed away,

She now she counts the moments he actually stays.

Unsettled, like a mutt astray, turning and pacing, from night to day.

Indecisive on whether he should go or stray.

And her, now numb, not caring either way.

They begin to close yet another Chapter of Fate.

Lost behind his own shadows,

hiding his soul,

Guarding his heart, and preserving his mind.

Juggling two worlds he refused to combine.

Too many factors here to try to figure out,

And he's overwhelmed with confusion and filled with self-doubt.

And like a coward's move on the chessboard of life,

It became easier to walk away than to stay with his wife.

With pity and no self-esteem she watches him each time that he leaves.

And yet still another moon glows, and yet another sun rises.

She rewinds events gracefully, for there will be no surprises.

This time while he's gone she busies herself.

Putting their past behind them inside cardboard boxes.

She grabbed up the china from an antique cabinet's drawer;

Given to them by people they've never met before.

Placed precisely in front of her on the table of time.

Wiped clean of the memories that seemed so sublime.

Dust Fairies joined her and moved in the air.

Laughing out loud and without any care.

Smashing to pieces she put the china in boxes,

No need to be careful when something's so toxic.

She seals each box with some sense and some logic.

She maintains her strength and heads toward the door,

Stepping over the debris that's cluttered the floor.

She loads up her car and pulls up as he passes.

Without looking back,

They both move on with their lives.

He knew she was gone when he seen broken glasses.

He now moves through life with a beaten stagger,

Portrayed by his guilt as a cowboy's swagger.

She moves on with her life trying to catch tear drops fallen,

Fallen with grace from this little girl's dreams.

She's given up completely on love so it seems.

And he meanders through time falling apart at the seams.