chivalry lives, after all

you told me
that i was the perfect combination
of beautiful and witty
of intelligent and down-to-earth
of mysterious and captivating:
a princess in every respect but title.

i told you
that you had me on a pedestal
-- no, a tall tower poised to topple --
and little boys hate it
when they find out that their goddesses
are mortals in disguise.

you told me
that if and when i fell from grace
you would be there to catch me
and tell me i was perfectly imperfect
and carry me home.

i told you
i believed you.
(yet i didn't understand why.)

but you never told me
that you were not the prince you convinced both of us you were
that you were never waiting at the bottom of my tower,
arms outspread, strong and faithful.

instead,
you had been holding me in your arms all along,
a mortal man trading heartbeats with a mortal woman.

and love, to me,
is no longer defined in terms of games
or towers
because

we've both already won all there is to be won.
because the earthquakes and nooses and fiery pits
we have both agonizingly withstood
disappeared the moment sapphire met cerulean
and consummated fate
by leaping off the rocky cliff of predisposition and disappointment
into the soft cocoon of a kiss.

and the truth is
i'm still falling.