Once Upon a Time

Had the phrase drumming through my head for some reason as I was trying to sleep. So here's this, though I wish I didn't feel like it was pathetically derivative of some of Anne Sexton's work.

Once
Upon a time
I could control myself
Or so the song says.

Once upon a time
a boy
met a girl
and they fell in love
but they didn't live happily ever after.
No, this isn't one of those stories.
Sorry.

Once upon a time
the boy looked up and saw the girl across the hall
their eyes met
("Aw," you say,
"How sweet."
But remember
they didn't live happily ever after.
Sorry.)

Once upon a time
they stood under a streetlight
and he kissed her,
the falling snowflakes their only witnesses.

Once upon a time
he had to leave her.
Oh, they promised things would be the same.
But they never were.

Once upon a time
she said she needed more
and he tried to give it
but it wasn't enough
or it wasn't done right
and they died.
That's the way things happen, sometimes
once upon a time.
They try not to tell you that, when you're young.
Too depressing.

Once upon a time
he awoke,
walked out into the stars
and found a butterfly waiting for him.
"Tell me a story," she said.
How do you think it began?

"Once upon a time
a boy met a butterfly
and they became friends."
"Did they live happily ever after?"
Did they?
Will they?

Once upon a time
something something something
and they lived happily ever after.
But what they never tell you
is that the something
is everything.
Sidelong glances
whispered nothings
fits of giggles
angry tears
hateful cries
loving caresses
hands intertwined.
Be my everything
and maybe
someday
we can tell everyone how we met
once upon a time.