The Gift

You seek to steal me away

but I am too eager to learn the steps

of a dance veiled deep in the woods,

to join the circus and follow the flight.

I know the wicked ways this path bodes

but isn’t it lovely to be courted by fantasy

one last time before falling prey.

The innocence you wish to entreat

has already bittered to the worries of the world.

I have no desire to be rescued

from the wild waters in which I am held.

Please lead me to a place

of peace and quiet where the wails

of the world do not reach my ears.

Where I can pretend such hardships do not exist,

and all there is are berries and bubbles,

sleeping fish, and the glow of moon reflected

on silent hills and slippery rivers.

I might seem sweet, red, full of life

but these are deceptions created for my protection.

My cheeks aren’t reddened by the blush of youth,

but burned by sun and hiss of wind.

You tempt me to a place which promises harmony,

but I am not being lured away

as much as seeking a sweet reprieve.

You think me innocent, think me sweet,

but I know why the tamed world weeps.

My solemn eyes follow the sounds of merriment

and I take your hand in hope of respite.

I give you my life, my future,

my place in this weeping world.

I give myself, a gift for you.