The Hardest Lesson

Once upon a time, in a land far, far away
Where the sun never shines and the sky's always grey,
Where roses never grow and nature found its grave,
Where love makes you not whole, but more of a slave.

In this realm of treachery and mischief
Where there's no hope and all is make believe,
Once upon a time, lived this little girl
With bright hazel eyes and the giggle of a squirrel.

The day she was born the sun shined for the first time,
The birds chirped and all nature sung a glorious hymn;
The clouds ran away into a darker place,
Scared, terrified by the grace of her innocent face.

As long as she smiled there was no disease,
No terrifying thoughts - all hearts were at ease;
The sparkles in her eyes were like stars in the sky,
Her long lashes batting like frail wings of a butterfly.

Not nectar or honey could be as sweet as her eyes,
Her wonderful gaze would be anger's demise;
The sound of her voice could make a deaf man hear;
The warmth of her heart made all pain disappear.

Years and years this world survived
With her love and by her love revived.
Years and years this world was at peace
With her love and by her love into happiness released.

Heart of a million dreams that reigned inside,
Her welcoming arms were a place for all to hide
When they needed a shelter, when they needed care,
Her arms wide open would always be there.

But in time, some things have started to change -
Every face looked weird, every sound was strange.
Her reality seemed distorted by a force unknown
That shunned away everybody and left her alone.

She didn't understand what happened, what was going on;
She didn't understand how darkness can linger in dawn.
She didn't know why people didn't care and looked away;
She didn't know how darkness can linger in times of day.

This torment and pain now lingering in her chest
Would keep her up all night, wouldn't let her rest.
These feelings grew anew inside her dreaming heart
And with each drop of rain those dreams were torn apart.

For the first time, the clouds weren't afraid of her face
And gathered together for the sun away to chase,
Bringing darkness into day and gloom in her eyes
Making them dark - a new type of demise.

With each passing year, her world became darker and darker,
The once golden sun now turned to amber,
The chirping birds turned into ravens calling upon death,
Her once beautiful smile was now a cry to catch her last breath.

Through these years, she learned a very dark lesson
While her eyes were teary, feeling choked by a python;
She cried for help but there was no one to turn to
As she was the one who always helped others get through.

In her care for others she forgot to take care of herself too,
She was always more concerned about the happiness of you,
About how you feel and how others are feeling,
Never once thinking one day she'll be the one who's knelling.

As we all learned or will learn at one point in our lives
That this world isn't freedom but keeps us captives,
Chained to our grief, to mistakes, to the unforgiving past,
In this world where magic and fantasy could never last

Because fairytales aren't real; there is no Prince Charming;
You can't live forever; soon worms will be swarming;
And last, but not least, there is no true love;
Hearts always will break 'neath the darkness above...

But this isn't something that had never happened before,
This isn't a new type of pain that lingers in her core,
This isn't a new world; it's the world were pain shall never stop;
This is waking up to reality... this is called growing up...