J. Antonio Rivera<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The monster\u2019s groan would come before
Its shadow crossed the bedroom floor.
A sound that taught the walls to shake,
A breath that made the castle ache.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The queen would rise, her crown askew,
Still standing when the storm blew through.
Her voice grew soft, her steps grew slow,
So I would never have to know.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
When rubies fell, I turned away,
Pretending dawn would cure the day.
For fairytales all clearly say:
Look too long, and curses stay.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
She tucked me in with trembling hands,
A hero no one understands.
No sword, no spell, no victory cry\u2014
Just love that chose to not let die.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The monster shrank when morning came,
Daylight steals a terror\u2019s flame.
But castles keep what walls have heard,
And children keep what\u2019s never learned.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
J. Antonio Rivera The monster\u2019s groan would come beforeIts shadow crossed the bedroom floor.A sound that taught the walls to shake,A breath that made the castle ache. The queen would […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":389,"featured_media":9933,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"portfolio_post_id":0,"portfolio_citation":"","portfolio_annotation":"","openlab_post_visibility":"","_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7,915],"tags":[405,408],"ppma_author":[916],"class_list":["post-9918","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-community-voices","category-poetry-corner","tag-cunyspskiosk","tag-student-life","has-thumbnail"],"yoast_head":"\n