straws and sticks did not fall so fast

as the dancers above cloud and gale

who waltzed on a fractured sheet of glass.

 

they played house in a frame built quick and crass;

even in that children’s fairy tale

straws and sticks did not fall so fast.

 

they dealt in cotton candy and hollow laughs;

bound to melt, to fade, to dim and pale

were the fools that waltzed on sugar glass.

 

it would not hold, so it came to pass

when a savage wolf prodded it to fail

that straws and sticks did not fall as fast.

 

evanescent like a lightning flash:

the fancy to tickle, impulse to regale

were just a waltz on faulty glass.

 

she wanted something that would last;

still she joined his midair step, knowing well

that straws and sticks did not fall as fast

as the waltzers on the fractured glass.