"Captured Innocence" by Melanie J. Teichroeb

Alone and free, the fairy wanders

Like a thread snipped from a spool

Fresh from her cocoon on the leaf

Newly formed wings drying in the sun

Flying high above the forest floor

Heart as full as the moon

She explores the land with the eye of a child

And the mind of a muse

With a sigh the wind assists

Her meandering pace through the wood

Guiding her out into the world

And into new sights to see

For a fortnight she flies

Without a worry, without a care

No set pace on her gentle journey

Only her faith in the sun and stars to lead the way

Soon on the horizon she spies a new set of stars

Like a horde of sleeping fireflies

Still, yet so far away

She sets off to join the masses

Alas, they are not friendly lights

They grow large as she grows near

Held by wingless giants on two legs

And they seem an unintelligible bunch

They call themselves humans

And laugh at the fairy’s wings

One by one they pull them off

And place her in a glass cage

An elegant rose left to wither

The fairy is held captive forever

A sight for giant human eyes

Her broken wings shall fly nevermore