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Once Upon an Awkward Time

Author: Len Pennie
Year: Adventure

Once upon an awkward time
In a kingdom close to here,
Lived a princess much inclined,
to face her greatest fear

Though she had ruled her kingdom with the greatest of propriety
Her noble quest, the toughest test: to overcome anxiety

Things that cause her palms to sweat and tightly force to clench her
Jaw are things that barely count as having an adventure

Slaying dragons can't compare with ordering a drink
Poison apples don't come close to how she'd overthink
When phoning up the doctor, it's just far too great an ask
Making awkward small talk is a herculean task

So she enlisted help from someone trained who could assist,
Not a fairy, witch or godmother but licenced therapist,
Who told her she was normal and all hope was far from dead,
That mental illness is a curse that lives inside the head

I'm getting fairly meta though by this point it should be,
Fairly obvious to all that the princess here is me,
I tend to use my poetry and convoluted prose,
To communicate the way I feel so everybody knows,
Mental illness isn't something I will ever fix,
But with some medication and a host of clever tricks,
I'm far more able to exist and be unsymptomatic,
My life's not quite a fairytale, but it's now much less dramatic.