Tell Me I'm Dreaming // poetry

7. Castle Darling

She could bathe in roses and sleep on beds of lavender,
be wrapped in silk and silver slender,
loved by all and held in wonder,
as crystal lights shone down in splendor.
She was fair as a flower and warm as the sunlight,
glowed like a blessed goddess of daylight,
brightened the land and even in midnight,
slept like -
but she didn't sleep.

Castle darling, castle darling,
princess that was held in envy,
beauty, riches, fame and glory
couldn't cure how she was empty.
The burning crown that scorched her head
and no one knew how much she bled
Her heart was hollow and she pled
for mercy - but no one heard what she had said.
She felt like a doll or a marionette,
she felt she was trapped in a shimmering net,
that everyone else saw only as gold
but if that was a golden throne, then she was Hera,
and if she was the Queen of Hearts,
why did she have no heart,
and if she was the princess of everything
why did she feel like she had nothing?
And there was nothing she could do but
stand and smile, laugh and wave,
Swivel, dance, and hear them rave, 
they thought that she had everything,
but in her heart of hearts,
all she wished for was something, anything
to ease the pain of having nothing.
She was Rapunzel trapped in a tower,
built brick by brick for her highness, her,
for power, for wealth, for glory, for beauty, for -
everything but meaning and everything but love and everything but anything she needed.

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- I Apaulagize