Fairytale – by Jai Lynn

The chief joy of writing and rehearsing fairytales is that imagination is queen. Often the less believable and less Cartesian a fairytale is, the more appealing and enduring it is. Think of Snow White (how does coughing up a poisoned apple wake someone up from a 7-year death-like sleep?) or the remarkably titled tale “East of the Sun and West of the Moon.” In today’s post, New Jersey author Jai Lynn gives her own little twist to the concept of a fairytale, all the while teaching us a oft-neglected lesson about handling mistreatment.

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“Fairytale”

Once upon a time…                                                                       

is how I shall begin.                                                                          

A castle wrought in ivory                                                                 

and knights arrayed in tin.

A jovial king

made of poultry

and sweet pie.

A dour queen

to never question

how or why?

In money and power

the kingdom

was renowned.

As were two princes

hunting in the woods

to be found.

The older

of the two

was strong and fit

but the younger

was smarter and

drowning in wit.

One day the older got an idea

to take his little brother

out to hunt deer

only his motives

in the situation

were very unclear.

They rode together

on black horses

of noble breed

till the older deserted

the younger, losing him

in the woods the deed.

The younger cried

realizing too late

he was alone,

and left to die,

his whereabouts

largely unknown.

Days passed

into weeks,

for the king and queen.

Mourning their loss

of the little prince

gone and unseen.

The prince

was never to return

do you see?

For in those

very woods

he built his own country.

He used his head

to find shelter

and food,

he made friends

with the foxes

wild and shrewd.

He survived

and grew older

in a castle of trees.

A kingdom of nature

that stretched 

away to the seas.

Did you think this was

a story of revenge

and deceit?

Sometimes the best comeback

is living well

and not falling to defeat.

The younger prince knew

what his brother

had done,

so he did one better

and lived a happy life

under the sun.

Living well

is retribution

kept hush

because swords are flashier,

as is dying

in the dust.

But don’t think

the older prince

still got to be.

His kingdom fell to ruin

while the younger’s

is still free.

As this is a fairytale

and I the crafter

all that’s left to say is

that prince lived happily ever after.

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Jai Lynn was born and raised in the suburbs of New Jersey and after trying out a number of career paths finally decided to follow her passion of writing. Her previous work has been featured in Drunk Monkeys. You can find her other writings on her website jailynn.com or track her down @jaiiiilynn4 on either Twitter or Instagram.