I’ll not tread lightly

Remember school days and how we would play
like there was no tomorrow?
Now the castles we made
are the price we must pay
or flounder in oceans of sorrow.

Roaming wild and free, building houses in trees
as worlds waltzed to discordant tunes–
like a zephyr through grass,
gilded summer days passed,
left us flayed under Cheshire moons.

Wooden sword fights and valiant knights,
pirates, the Pan and his Bell,
faded from dreams,
rowed ungentle streams,
to where the real monsters dwell.

I’ve climbed faraway trees, seen fair Honah-Lee,
never never thought I’d grow old.
Now the pied piper calls —
as the last curtain falls,
leafless, I’ll trip into the wold.

Ryan Stone

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66 thoughts on “I’ll not tread lightly”

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  2. Love the images you’ve created with your words; excellent descriptions! Also, a little taken aback by your photograph, as it is so similar to the one I chose for my post today. Great minds, I guess… 😉

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  5. Ohhhh!! this one!! 🙂 It does not have “burn” but it will definitely sound beautiful in your VERY poetic voice (okay, multi-talented voice 😉 – I just discovered a chunk of your poems that I have not commented yet! Yay me!
    okay, okay, one thing at a time – this please 🙂

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  6. Wel.. i am speechless.. your voice really brings a beautiful nuance to this poem, a new dimension definitely. Okay, I have one new favorite word: moon 😀 😀

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      1. 😀 but, I had not heard it said by you, now if i can get you say “skittles” hmmmm…. any skittles poem around there? 😀

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  10. Quite a fascinating piece, not sure where to begin. I think you say when we are young fairytales and stories seem so real and fun and true. There’s no shame in them b/c we’re young but they can end up hurting us b/c we eventually learn they’re not real. That’s the price we must pay looking back wanting to be young and free and play with those fairytale creatures but we can never go back to Pan and Neverland or the Cheshire Cat in Wonderland, and knowing we can’t stay young and that we are lives abc as people are lives are fallible, brief, and that we cannot stay young is scary. Being an adult is too real. At the end when he’s like a tree “leafless” I don’t know if he’s old and finally back to Neverland and fairytales in eternity. Or if he is overcome by the realization of his finite times and finally sees the real world for what it is. I hope it’s the first.

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    1. Yes – you’ve interpreted my intention beautifully (as you usually do!). The first ending you’ve described is the one I intended, but I can certainly see how you came to the second idea as well. Thank you for investing so much time into reading, analyzing and sharing your thoughts – it is truly humbling and most appreciated. It’s such a nice feeling to know that something I wrote has been able to be enjoyed and understood by a friend. You’re a star, Mandi 🙂

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