Making a Choice (The Fairy Queen and Me)

Making a Choice (The Fairy Queen and Me)

The fairy queen stood proudly by me,

A statuesque beauty at my side,

And I, the recently exiled king,

Was thrilled she was my bride,

Upon my shoulders I wore a cloak,

Fairy magic had hidden me well,

To any outsider I appeared an oak,

In harmony with earth with the spell,

My trusty sword was ready to swing,

I thought with fairy magic,

I could conquer anything,

But alone I walked, a battle to seek,

My enthusiasm was shaken,

My knees were suddenly weak,

I realized I could not attack from the wood,

For fairy magic can only be used for good,

I noticed a stranger approaching from the east,

With a long bow and quiver, riding a beast,

A canvas covered box was within his grasp,

He asked if I wanted him to open the clasp,

“Only if it holds something for the good,

I’ll accept nothing evil, let that be understood,”

The stranger looked startled and ceased to grin,

“Think clearly, oh king, if you desire to win,

I have magic in this box that could kill you,

And the arrows I carry fly straight and true!”

“Go,” I said, “I’ve learned much from my queen,

Honesty, beauty, joy, and the earth always green,

I will not change my mind even unto death,

So away with your evil,” I hissed under my breath,

I watched him leave for a long, long, while,

Then I turned and saw the fairy queen’s smile,

She whispered, “I love you more than you’ll ever know,

I’ll fight by your side, dealing blow upon blow,”

I uttered, “With goodness and truth we’ll find another way,”

I could feel love’s awesome power increasing that day,

But was there too much evil to enact a new plan?

Would good be banned forever from this land?

Telling Lies at Christmas

Mark asked, “What’s your name?”

My son looked at him with a sparkle in his eye,

This was going to be a fun game,

“George. If you ask me again,

I’ll tell you the same,”

My son was smiling and having some fun,

I couldn’t see how that would hurt anyone,

But Bill took exception and looked Richard in the eye,

“You’re going to hell for telling a lie,”

I was shocked at Bill’s words for they were so strong,

Did he really believe that teasing was so wrong?

Bill turned to Mark and quickly said,

“I think you’d better head on to bed,

It’s Christmas Eve, did you forget the date?

Santa won’t come if you’re up too late!”

“I’m sorry, dad, Mark whispered (because he truly believed).

Santa was still coming, Mark was so relieved,

Fantasy was one thing, and truth was another,

Bill’s perception of lies was between one and the other,

Despite Bill’s protests I left in a huff,

Friend or no friend, I’d heard enough,

On the way home I explained to my son,

“Our words should not be used to hurt someone,

Respecting others is one of our goals,

I don’t care if you believe in the North Pole,

A Christmas Fairy with a magic wand,

The Magic Kingdom or deer that can fly,

Is that all in fun or just telling lies,

Allowing others to dream and have some fun,

Why should we want to hurt anyone?

Santa is a fun story to tell to the young,

To see their eyes light up when stockings are hung,

When you were teasing I didn’t think there was harm,

Especially for Bill to shout an alarm,

I’ll be expecting Bill to apologize,

Unless he can prove that reindeer fly,

Otherwise he was the one telling a lie.”