The Ball Poem by Dale M. Holsopple

This is a story, a fairytale of true events, that happened in the life of an unremarkable man...

One day, not too long ago, the unremarkable man was in love with a beautiful woman. He thought she was beautiful no matter what she did, and when she thought she looked her worst, he saw her natural beauty. One day the unremarkable man got a chance to show his beautiful lover how beautiful she really was, for he (and she) had been invited to a huge ball.

The night of the ball was upon them, and hours before the unremarkable man was already dressed and was pacing around, trying to will the clock to tick faster. Then the time came for him to see his beautiful lover, as he had always known she could look. When she stepped from the carriage his breath was snatched from his lungs. Her long reddish hair tussled about her shoulders, her sparkling crimson lips slowly raising to meet his in a kiss that left his own lips tingling.

They arrived at the ball and entered the palace. The unremarkable man's excitement was mounting as the pair reached the ballroom. Everyone would see his lover as he saw her and he would dance with her, and only her, as she would dance with him and only him.

They danced. The unremarkable man had never danced before, but he stood with her and he felt as if he knew exactly what to do, and they danced for hours. When the music slowed and all were seated and waiting for the feast the unremarkable man did something truly remarkable, and surprised even himself.

He stood up and held out his hand to his beautiful woman the dance floor was empty, no one else was there. The slow music was perfect. He led her to the center and they danced there, swaying to the soft rhythm of the music. Cheek to cheek they danced. The world could have fallen away and neither would have noticed the music had even stopped. They danced as if they were the king and queen of the palace, although they were not.

When the song was over, and the unremarkable man was leading his beautiful woman from the dance floor, everyone at the ball was silently watching them take their seats. The unremarkable man felt as if he was the lord of all creation. The ball went on, and as it wound down the unremarkable man took his beautiful woman to her home, and was allowed to stay the night with her.

As they lay down to sleep the unremarkable man felt as if he had the world at his fingertips then, with a smile and a tear he realized that he did. She was laying in his arms, falling asleep at his side she was his world, and he could taste the sweetness of her lips on his fingertips.

...I wish that this was the end of our story, I wish that the unremarkable man lived with his beautiful lover until the end of their days on earth. However, it was not so...

When the unremarkable man woke up the next morning he had found that his lover was gone. In the night she had left him, and went to another. His world was lost, his heart was broken, and his pride was shattered. The unremarkable man, who had one night of lordship over the world, had changed. He was no longer unremarkable, he was a broken man.

...The moral of this story, is thus: Fairytale endings only happen in fairy-tales