The Fairytale Wakes

62 - Enough

There was never enough under our roof

So my brother walked off the beaten track

With naught but the clothes on his broad back

To make his own fortune

The tales came with wandering guests

He'd fought an ogre, won a contest

Tricked a witch, danced with a princess

His eye on the King's own fortune.

But there was still never enough under our roof

So I left too. The clothes on my back

Dealt harshly by the season's whims

As I walked off the beaten track

I settled a month's hike away

A month of learning how to eat

And of learning how to greet

Strangers on strange roads

So I settled and found a craft I hated

But that paid enough, yes just enough

To keep the new roof over my head

And promise a future, though rough

My hands grew hard. I got better

Hate turned to grudging respect, to like

One day to love as a man stepped in

And asked if I would marry him

We married in the village square

And who else did I see there

But my brother, the tale spinner,

Looking well and fair

He'd learned a trade too

He'd married a girl

We'd both found our fortunes

In a harsh world

There had been no kingdoms or contests won,

No dead dragons and no glory.

But there was love and work and enough to eat

And that was enough for this story.