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// 32 - The Princess Sleeps (blank verse) 
// Story: Ponyville & Other Poems 
// by AugieDog 
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The princess sleeps and dreams that she is sleeping.

Unobserved, dispersed within her mind,
I'm one with her at last, her peace alluring.
Gentle breaths, all jasmine soaked and swirling,
Rise like cedar smoke or frankincense
To soothe the air, aglow with love's forgiveness.

"Undeserved." The thought is dark and scurries,
Biting, shadowy, a fleeting rat.

I cast a tendril, snatch the thought before
The princess wakes. I draw it close and whisper,
"Love's a gift, bestowed instead of earned."

Like beetles scuttling through the leaves, it laughs.
"A sophist's ploy," it rustles more than says.
"Reality asserts itself, you know
As well as I do, Tantabus! Inhale,
And smell the smoke! Her fuse is ever lit,
Her ticking never ending, only muffled."

"Baseless, creature base!" I keep myself
Contained, will not allow my former nature
Space to kick the princess in her dreams
The way I did at her command in nightly
Cavalcade for days and weeks and months.
"She finally understands the trust they have
In her, the faith, and yes, in fact, the love."

It writhes within my grip. "You can't believe
You serve the truth by holding me at bay!
I'm vital, bringing balanced common sense
To all internal plans, deliberations,
Thoughts, and schemes! Without the touch of Doubt—"

"You plague her." Still, I'm somehow murmuring,
With effort pulling back so nothing sharp
Can crack the velvet sky, disturb her slumber,
Force the flowers, limpid, delicate,
To cringe and wither, shudder, droop and fade.
"You have a place, I won't deny, but now
That place is changing, Doubt, has broadened, widened,
Grown refined. You play along or die."

The snort it gives dispenses ripples, shivering
The dreaming dream. "You little fool!
You draw your strength from nowhere else but me!"

"I did!" To stress the word, I'm almost forced
To raise my voice, but no. The path I'm choosing
Currently is tough but always soft.
"That you begot me, seeded me inside
Her royal womb, I frowningly acknowledge—"

"Ha!" Its cackle smacks me hard as fists.
"If I'm you father, whelp, then do my will!"
Its claws unsheathing, Doubt begins to dig,
To work its talons deep into my skin.
"Your princess and your mother needs to know
Her subjects are eternally protected,
Safe from all the darkness squirming deep
Within her fetid, dank and cankered soul!
And yes, our roles are changing, you and I,
But still we have our obligations, must
Unite to check her power, not allow—!"

"Enough." With rapid teeth, I separate
The bloated head of seething Doubt from what
It calls its body, crunch its carapace,
And dine upon its lies and partial truths.
"I'm acting as a filter now, a screen
Of love and caring raised against you, Doubt.
That you exist, we won't forget, but know:
You'll not extinguish Luna's silver light
For I am no one's nightmare now but yours."

It wriggles, but I swallow, force it down,
My senses stretched, attuned for any squeak.
I know that Doubt will ever slither through,
But while I stand, it will not rule again.

The princess sleeps and dreams of me attentive,
Guarding her so she can guard the night.