Nepenthe

At the very outset of this tale,

I would love to say,

Though all love stories begin with a spark of magic,

But not all ends have a happy fate.

This story is not fake,

It is not a fairy tale.

But it also has a start which says,

Once upon a time in a land far away,

There lived a girl,

She was the deepest ocean’s pearl.

She had the audacity to fight for what was right,

But had no courage to love her life.

She was a black-eyed princess,

Whose heart was of gold,

A heart that bewitched all.

One day she was out to a feast,

When came a drunken beast.

He was hated by all,

But he was her destiny.

To her face,

This fiasco said, “you my lady are coveted and ugly”.

This she took to heart,

Because this young man was no one else but her better half.

She was benevolent,

He was arrogant.

Delicacy was what she liked,

A statue of harshness he was.

She asked herself if it was a curse,

That destiny bound him with her.

She thought of the time when they loved each other,

When they lived with and for each other.

And then he left,

To gift her a life she dreamt.

He left to an unknown world,

A world where humans were.

He learned duplicity and ignorance,

He earned money at a cost of his feelings.

An angel cut his wings to walk,

And all he got from this sacrifice was his heart sold.

This world carved a human out of an angel,

Who now understands no words of love.

He turned his own kind against him,

Except for the sole girl who still believed in his love.

She always stood for her prince,

Though never to her ground she stood this firm.

She looked at him,

Laying passed out,

To her, he was still that beautiful boy,

Who used to deliberately touch her cheek,

To see the red on her face.

Who used to make her laugh,

And dance around in the yard.

At this moment she sat down on her knees,

In her lap, she kept his face.

And ever so soothingly upon that lovely face, she gazed.

Kissing his forehead,

She touched his cheek.

He smiled so lightly,

That it made her hand freeze.

After so long she saw that smile,

A smile she wished to cherish for life.

And she realized,

Not all fairy tales end,

With a happily ever after the phrase.

To cherish this love,

She needs to end it here.

Like Romeo and Juliette did mistakes,

Not being patient enough led their love down a happy fate.

Alas, for our lovers here, patience could be a deadly sin.

And she couldn’t commit a mistake that could be the death of him.

She took out a bottle as black as hatred,

But with love, she drank it.

The bells in the church start to ring,

 And she knew it was god’s call for them.

She looked one last time at her dead prince,

Whose death she planned in the liquor he drank.

The next morning when they were found,

Laying together on that holy ground,

Everyone was amazed at the sight,

Because death never seemed as beautiful as it did this time.

Though no blood was pumping now,

Their eyes forever were closed,

Yet the people could feel the love,

And the smile on their faces echoed in silence,

Telling how at peace they were.

Hand in hand, they say,

The lovers came and went away.

Even humans couldn’t taint,

His love with deeds of disgrace.