Kevin

dear, friend -- if i may,
i know it's been a long while since we've spoken
since a hello has crossed this space
but i, i have never thought of you in any other light

dear, friend -- i thought of you last week
walking along the harbour, where we used to watch the ships
and you would tell me about how you wanted to be part of them
a traveller, adventurer -- hero, as the ones who came before

friend, you called me the night you made your choice
and told of the way your sister cried, and your mother screamed,
and your father somberly said he admired your bravery
and i, too, cried -- and screamed -- and did all i could to change your mind

and friend, i think of you, watching the same sunrises
but from greater heights and deeper depths and further plains
about your laughter across the miles, and the way you never let on about
that weight that you carry on your shoulders so effortlessly

and i, i will forgive you every time that you miss a coffee date
and i will understand, every holiday when you don't come home
because you're busy out there wandering the country and keeping it safe

they, they will call you comrade
and one day, i'm sure of it, they will call you commander
but i, i will always call you "friend"

Of Dragons and Dreams

But maybe I don’t need any saving.

Every little girl wants to be a princess; to be cherished, to be loved. But not every princess is a damsel in distress, and maybe I refuse that fate. Maybe I don’t need you to come rescue me, and maybe I don’t need you to lead me. I want you to walk beside me and listen and speak and wonder with me. I want you to ask me big questions and challenge me; I want you to change my mind. I want you to hold my hand and spin me around in the wildest dance—but I don’t want you to lead me, because I don’t need a knight in shining armour.

I want you to be a hero, but I don’t want you to be my hero. I want to be my own saviour. I don’t need to be swept off my feet and carried off into some sunset, and I can slay my own dragons, thank you very much—because you know what? I love bows and twirly skirts and polka dots, I’m afraid of spiders, I cry at the drop of a hat, I dream like I mean it and none of those things make me any less capable; none of those things makes me weak.  

So, Romeo, you can indeed be the prince and I’ll be the princess, and together we'll write the greatest love story—but I’ll be my own heroine, because this princess doesn’t need any saving.