This must have been
what it was like
in medieval times
a young princess
flocks of twitchy servants
trying to read her mood
this morning
laughing was banned
and now socks
are forbidden
last night
I didn’t know
about the pillows
and I sat on one
she screamed
no
and I jumped up
quick to obey
to stop the sound of her yell
that scraped the inside
of my head
and it must have been this way
with royal offspring
except she might have
stomped and shouted
off with head
for the pillow infraction perhaps
or for not finding the right pen
or when the balloon popped
and I couldn’t put it
back together
and maybe the next day
lopped head buried or drowned
or however they disposed
of the guilty
the young princess would ask
for that nursemaid
and someone would softly
remind her what she’d done
and she’d realize
she missed her kind smile
and that time they slipped
in the mud and laughed so hard
they peed a little
in their dresses
and her heart and stomach
would tighten like she was choking
and she would look around
for who to yell at
bring her back.