"I fell in love once..."
Said the hag to juvenile eyes,
Open wide, glinting with wishes
That have yet to die.
Shining above smiles of
Innocent mischief.

"What was it like?"

A throaty laugh crept in reply,
Lingering in ears
As she gently whispered
"As if death had been delivered"
She whimpered,
Then wrinkled eyes flickered
"My heart eaten away by blisters!
Skin once warm,
Grew cold and withered;
In the light your flesh will shiver.
Minds shrink and quickly close,
Thoughts become lost behind
Endless doors.
And that ******* Hope,
Sticks bony fingers down throats.
You'll choke, on emotions that don't grow.
It's an illusion of the unknown,
That's birthed when you're alone
I fell in love once, and forever
It left me undone.
Heartstrings severed by
Infinite measures.
The aches, the pains
Instilled in poisoned brain.
Love is a disease, and so quickly
It consumed me
Never to leave, never to leave...
It lies asleep 'tween weak heartbeats
And nights where heavy breathes.
A spell that beauty shall beseech
Your heart to let reach
And once inside,
It writhes like a twisted centipede
That shall crawl within till
Memories are laid thin.

I fell in love once,
And in love I still am,
For once under the curse,
Eternally you are ******."

The children eyed the old woman
Between their stars, a darkness woven.

-SLuR