when i paused and fell to one knee she let out a sharp inhalation, a host of emotions that sped through as i realized she might think this was a proposal

it was, but not for a lifetime of fairy tale sunsets, there would be no magician, no dragon, no knight, she is a beautiful princess, but she doesn’t need rescued

for what do i have to give but a crumbling kingdom of wayward words, a piece of my broken to scar her ring finger, and a promise i would try to do better

an offering of my heart, no strings attached, an offering that any sweetened verse would have her smile folded throughout, an offering of a shared dream

she needn’t expect i would offer the moon and stars, but i would willingly stand beneath them for a chance to hold her hand and watch them glitter in her eyes

neither of us spoke as she watched me watch her, her eyes widened in dismay mine in confusion, before tying my shoe lace with a red stained face

a proposal of sorts, one of a walk through the woods, there are only so many seconds allotted, and i proposed we spend as many of them together as possible

that’s enough in a world of complicated expectations, to simply be, to share the time we have, to love freely, to kiss underneath the night time sky

that sounds like a fairy tale to me