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The Story Of a Storyteller

"Once upon a time", began the blind old man
"There was a sea as endless as time; and
It reeked of stories of survival and death,
But none could wait to watch the waves break.
A sailor lived once, I don't remember his name,
Whose skills did put the others' to shame;
He'd conquer the sea, they would all shout
And the sky would rumble at the scream so loud;
That day, and the ones that had shone brighter
Will be drawn by a kid and poetised by a writer-
A hundred years from now, just a hundred wee years."

"One fateful night, the storm wanted to play
With the one little boat that struggled to stay
Afloat; and the sailor heard his name loud and clear
Shooting back from the hungry waves far and near.
He kissed his oar, for the last time he could see,
And closed his eyes to embrace the open sea.
He was found a day later, on a plank, alive,
But the rest of the boat was gone, like life.
The sailor searched for her, from daybreak till night
And like true love always does, she had vanished from sight.
Every mouth around him whispered, 'You must be strong',
But a hundred years then suddenly seemed too long.
With her, his beloved boat, he could have conquered the sea
But instead he told this little story to me."

The children left, and the old soul promised
The rest of it the next day, and mused how well
He sketched his own story every day, without
Breaking the bliss of ignorance; yesterday it was
A knight, with an armour not so shiny, and today it was
A sailor; tomorrow, well, a selfish king would be good
And a queen perhaps. A smile escaped. And a sigh.
This is how 'once upon a time' worked for him.

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