Honed for discrimination,
empowered and passionate.
The spoiled monarch roams,
the heart’s kingdom hungers.
Thirsting for distant waters,
calloused feet resent the earth.
Rivers stand still in grails,
beloved denatured by conquest.
Clinging to beauty found,
the heart weds and guards.
Plucked flowers in gold vases,
wilt behind palace walls.
~r