She Used To Be A Dreamer

Once there was a little girl.
At night she wished on lily pads
That floated in the pond of a funeral home.

She danced in leaves
Muddy and brittle as they were
In the warm spring air

She spun dreams out of moonlight
Iridescent fairies that floated in
And out of her consciousness.

She saved wasps from water
Palm swollen from the sting
Of her kindness.

Once there was a teen girl
Who bottled her grief in soda cans,
Hiding them in the knot holes of old oak trees

She trailed tears into dew drops
That kissed the grass under early morning light

She dressed herself in armor of dark
Clothes and heavy boots, preparing
for a battle that already passed.

Once there was a young woman
Who has forgotten how to dream
And now waits for the fairies to return
To save her from herself.