Of Wooden Swords and Paper Crowns

He sits now by the riverbank,
His heart like the rock he skipped; it sank
Its dreams it took along with his
Down past the rippling surfaces

"How long ago?" he wonders aloud.
Though the stream makes no replying sound
"Since I was crowned a noble king
In this mystical kingdom ever shining?

"How long ago with my steed did I ride
Across this grassy countryside
To meet with my beloved maiden fair
And to help pick dandelions for her hair?

"We'd take turns in afternoons
Riding my horse fashioned from a broom
How could we forget our noble stallion
Whom we decorated with paper medallions?

"We'd fight dragons, win, and then we'd gloat
Parading across planks over the river moat
We'd draw pictures of our battle scenes for hours
Then show them off in our tree house towers

"And even after the battles died
We made bottle cap medals, worn with pride
Secured them tight with safety pins
On the old jacket of mine I felt bravest in

"My father's worn out hunting coat
Was the armor that I treasured most
It was scuffed and torn, but that to me
Was the very image of bravery

"Through battles fought with wooden swords
And the many kingdoms we explored
We always came home to adoration
As we humbly accepted our coronation

"Those were the days of true chivalry
When our lives fit together so perfectly
So sad that the world that meant so much to me
Is nothing now but a sweet memory"

And yet, as the sun sets over the field
A part of his mind cannot help but yield
The fleeting image of two silhouettes
Playing in a world they will never forget