Paper Kingdom

There was once a kingdom made of paper,

And I thought it couldn’t fall

Where monsters couldn’t reach us and we feared nothing at all

All the towers stood on storybooks,

Every road was straight and wide,

No one locked their doors at evening,

There was no need to hide.

Monsters only lived in pages,

Wars were things from long ago,

Kings were brave and always honest—

At least that’s what I was told.

My father wore a cardboard crown,

My mother’s voice was gold,

They made the world feel permanent

And safe enough to hold.

Every storm would pass by morning,

Every wrong was made right—

Dragons were just bedtime warnings

That would fade with morning light.

In the kingdom made of paper,

We were happy, we were small,

Every crack was just a shadow

On the bedroom wall.

We believed that we were stronger

Than the things we couldn’t see—

No one told us how it crumples

Away from you and me.

It seemed like nothing ever broke

And fear vanished like smoke

Every promise felt like stone—

In the kingdom made of paper

We were never all alone

Then the walls began to whisper

Things they’d never said before,

Like the nights that stretched to morning

With the pacing on the floor.

There were folds inside the pages,

And loud voices down the hall,

And the chapter began to close

Like it wasn’t there at all.

Every answer turned to a question,

Every truth began to sway,

Each “everything is fine”

Felt a little less that way.

And the stories lost their meaning,

And heroes were covered in stains—

Dragons weren’t just bedtime warnings,

They were real and breathed in flame.

In the kingdom made of paper,

We were happy, we were small,

Every crack was just a shadow

On the bedroom wall.

We believed that we were stronger

Than the things we couldn’t see—

No one told us how it crumples

Away from you and me.

It seemed like nothing ever broke,

And fear vanished like smoke

Every promise written in ink—

No one said the future’s coming

Before we could even blink

Now the towers fold like letters

Left out in the rain,

Now the crowns are just reminders

Of what couldn’t stay the same.

And the monsters in the margins

Finally made their way inside—

Turns out growing up’s a battle

No one really survives.

From the paper kingdom,

We were carried far away,

Every promise turned to ashes

In the light of day.

All the dragons we were warned of

Had a face we used to know—

And the story’s end always finds you

When you start to grow.

There was once a kingdom made of paper…

And I thought it couldn’t fall.

…In the kingdom made of paper…