Once there were heroes,
Tall, strong and brave.
Once there were heroes
Fearing nothing
Riding off on white horses
To slay the dragon,
Save the princess,
Ride off into the sunset,
Perfect hair blowing,
Perfect face glowing.

Once there were villains,
Cruel and bitter.
Plotting cruel misdeeds
Cackling evilly
Laughing at the pain of their underlings
Savage and deadly
Living to hurt others
But always with a flaw
So that the hero could come
Face off
And be victorious.

Once there were fair maidens,
Crying out in distress.
Waiting for the day
That a hero would come,
An elegant prince,
A knight in shining armor
An unusually powerful,
Handsome, literate
Peasant boy
Any hero at all
Just waiting to be rescued.

Once there were fairy tales...
Oh, wait. There still are.
But the hero is dead,
Dead from charging off to fight
With no foresight on the matter,
The villain is successful
In his perfectly tailored suit
And the fair maiden
Has learned to help herself.

Once there were heroes.
But now we know that the world
Is not a place of fairy tales.