Another fairytale! Crazy.

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once upon a time
there was a handsome prince with blood
on his hands

and a beautiful princess who
had shining golden hair
and a broken neck

they ruled from a marble castle
gray-veined and older than the hills
and around it a village rose

and the men, they said,
“It is not always so.”

the princess gave dinner parties
but the champagne went sour on the table
for no one came

the prince led hunts on his broken horse
but the game went free
for no one followed him

and the women, they said,
“It was not always so.”

the prince laughed a cold laugh
while around him the marble crumbled
and so did his wife

she sat on her throne
her eyes frozen open
while the mice gnawed on her bones

but the children, who were wise, they said,
“It will be always so.”