Hero for a Day

This is a narrative I wrote several months ago and entered it into a national contest on satire and humor writing. I have no idea how it did because, unfortunately, I forgot the name of the contest and I'm pretty sure I gave them the wrong email address for more information on the contest. Subsequently, this satire is out there, lost in a sea of other internet stories and poetic quips without names. Moral of the story - write things down! But I remembered I have a blog and so I put it up on here for your reading pleasure. It's not my usual type of post, but I hope you enjoy it's twist! 


"Hero for a Day"

In a far-away village
Next to the town of Dool,
Was a knight named Dillage
Who was never mistaken for a fool.
He was a dashingly handsome man
With a dashingly handsome plan
That would make him hero for the day.

In a castle lay his prize,
Guarded by fearsome ghouls,
A princess with shimmering eyes
Which shined like jewels!
To the castle he'd take flight
And save the princess that night
That would prove him hero for the day.

Upon trusty steed,
Sir Dillage rode across the plains
So he might carry out the deed
Which would win his acclaim.
The townsfolk would adore him
And the Princess would love him
And he'd become hero for the day.

"S-s-s-stop! Who goes there?"
Said a timid voice from behind the castle wall.
"I, Sir Dillage am here,
To save the princess from that tower that is so tall!
The dragon I will slay
And villains too, I might just say,
And become hero for the day!"

Just then, from behind the wall
Came little Leroy, the grounds keeper
Who was barely five feet tall
But the land's biggest pip-squeaker!
At Leroy, Sir Dillage did laugh,
For he was just a runt, small & daft
And wouldn't stop him from being hero for the day.

As Dillage went past with a shove,
Leroy began to cry,
For the princess he did love
And save her he dare not try.
For he was a weak, young lad
And fighting skills he did not have
To be hero for a day.

As hours ticked & minutes passed,
Leroy knew what would happen.
That Dillage would come back fast
With the princess in good fashion.
Only Dillage would the princess adore
And have need for Leroy no more
And Sir Dillage would be hero for a day.

But lo-and-behold
Sir Dillage came back by himself!
And unlike Dillage was told,
There wasn't any wealth.
He rode by angrily
And gave Leroy the foulest look as can be,
For he wasn't hero for the day.

"I knew it!" Leroy shouted.
"The princess loved me after all!
Her love for me was not doubted
I'll go to her, to that tower so tall."
Up the steps he climbed,
Rehearsing what he'd say so it would rhyme,
Because he'd become hero for the day.

But as he burst through the tower door,
Things were different than he thought.
The princess nagged Leroy to the floor;
She was just a dreadful snot!
It was either her dress wasn't pretty enough
Or the sun on her skin was too rough
And she always demanded her hero for the day.

It is no surprise Leroy didn't last.
NO ONE could take the princess for long.
He fled the castle fast
So his life he'd prolong.
From afar she was a buttercup,
But there was a reason she was locked up,
And never found her hero for the day!

KB

"Better to live on the corner of the roof than in the house with a quarrelsome wife." -Proverbs 21:9