The Princess And The White Knight Poem by Maya Reid

My life is a fairy tale
That’s not as great as it sounds
You see, I’m Cinderella
The lonely princess
Trapped
In a turret
Inside of the castle
In my mind

I am lost
Cold
And alone
No one understands
No one sees this me
Waiting at the window
Watching the destruction
Watching the outside world
Through her little hole
In the turret’s wall

Watching for her prince
I won’t let anyone else in
No one but
Eventually
Him

I am
Secretly
A slave
A slave to their desires
Subject to their punishments
But to the world
I am
A queen
Well, soon-to-be

One step away
From the top of the world
Everything
In the palm of my hand
Well, you see everything
I only see the one thing I’m missing
I only see the empty space
Where I’ve been programmed to believe
That my prince
My white knight
Should be

As a queen I appear
Before the crowd
I smile and wave
Trying to hide the fact
That I’m crying inside
That I’m dying inside

That night
As I lay
Alone in the dark
Sobbing myself to sleep
A soft knock
On the grand wooden door
Startles me back
To harsh reality

My messenger approaches
Bowing, he says
“The white knight approaches.
He is on his way.”

The white knight
My prince
I get all dressed up for him
Oh, how I have longed for him
For a sharp sword to fight for me
And a broad shield to protect me
For a savior

He saved the city to the north
From death and destruction
Stopped the earth from quaking
In the west
The sky from falling
To the east he fought
The darkness back from swallowing the sky
In time,
I believe
He will save me, too

Around midday
The gates burst open
He has been idolized for so long
That the guards recognize his face
He needs no pass to get through

Sword sheathed, helmet on
He enters my hall
The way he moves seems somehow
Familiar
Like I have moved the same way
I begin to praise him
Give him thanks

Beneath the helmet
A female voice rings out
“Do not speak.
You will not silence
My message.”

She reaches up
Removes the protective mask
As I gasp
Looking at her face
The White Knight is me

I am trapped in my castle
By three painful powerful dragons:
My past, present and future?
And only I can save me
As I have rescued everyone else
But I trapped myself in the first place

Beware the White Knights
We do not fight our dragons –
Instead, we train them

So I have retreated to my turret
My little corner of the globe
Returned to my familiar position
Staring out the window
But now the scenery has changed
Or maybe just the eyes
Through which it’s seen

The watery, tear-filled eyes
Of the lonely princess
Who’s finally realized
That no one is coming
She has already lost
Her white knight.
The watery, tear-filled eyes
Of the Cinderella
Who has finally come to the conclusion
That Prince Charming
Does not exist.