There once was.

There once was a girl.

There once was a girl,
Pale face dotted
With freckles,
And shorter than she really ought to be.

There once was a girl,
Pale and short and
Completely sure.
Sure of herself, and who she wanted
To be.

And so, there once was a girl.

There once was.

There once was a boy.

There once was a boy,
Tanned skin darker than all
Her freckles combined,
And short, but still taller than her.

There once was a boy,
So certain of himself,
And who he would be,
That she fell into love,
Into like,
Into something,
With this boy,
And who he wanted her to be.

There once was.

There once was a girl.

There once was a girl,
Skin tan, but smoothed over with
Light,
And only an inch taller than her
("It's only half an inch.")

(And,
To be honest,
She was still figuring things out.)

There once was a boy,
Who thought her freckles as
Dirt
Beneath his feet,
But told her they were "pretty."

There once was a girl,
Who didn't see freckles,
But
Starry nights and angel kisses;
She would never tell her as much,
But she always meant it
Every time "cute" fell from
Lip-glossed lips.

There once was.

There once was a girl.

There once was a girl,
Pale and short and freckled,
And she was falling,
She was falling for something-
But it sure as hell wasn't love-
But she couldn't stop,
Or pull herself
Up
(No matter how many kisses
Dotted her cheeks.)

There once was a girl,
And all she could do was
Hold out her hand,
Reaching for a boy she thought
Would pull her up,
Correct her path and force
This to be love,
Because she wasn't so sure of herself
Anymore.

There once was.

There once was a girl.

There once was a girl
Who reached up for
A boy,
And salvation,
And instead found it only a
Half-inch away,
In smooth skin and
Lip-glossed lips.

(And she was no longer
Falling,
But was definitely in
Love.)