Such a handsome knight
Prince Valiant at his zenith.
The gene that demanded
dare was there.
He challenged his body’s  frailties
and hurled himself
towards the serotonin surge.

His lady fair—a snow princess.
The fleeting values of fashion—
cool contrived convictions
false superficialities.
Flunky junky courtiers
primped and preened
like shallow distracted birds.
An emptiness filled with glamour.
It depletes the soul.

The princess beguiled the prince.
He gave her love.
She gave him deadlines.
Beware the manipulation glove
in seductive packaging.
He admired the single-minded strength
of strong women,
but the petulant princess
had indulgent demands
and became fixed and scattered.

Reaching the nadir
he made a plea to communicate.
She did not want to cooperate.
What price the public face?
Between Scylla and Charybdis
perpetuating the myth.

The sad saga ceased.
The maelstrom terminated
with a mist-shrouded accident,
and the mechanical bird’s
spiral descent.
Dragged down to
the mermaid depths
the ocean claimed
the fractured figures,
precipitated the agony
of no farewells,
and gave the gift of grief.
They still mourn.