The Little Prince

He lived on a planet scarcely larger than him,
constantly responding to his rose's every whim
She was a beauty, no doubt, but haughty and proud,
by her perpetual demands, his happiness was shroud
The rose believed she could ward off anger with her meager thorns,
such statements and other untruths made him weary and forlorn
So, it was her nature so vain and naive,
that caused him- his beloved planet- to shortly leave
After a brief farewell of tears and sighs,
the little prince sadly bid her goodbye

After a critical, informative adventure, he reaches the earth
where it seems as though everything would soon lose its worth...

Instead of among people, he swiftly lands
in the Sahara Desert- an expanse of enigma and sand
While navigating though the dunes, where he is in the middle,
he encounters a snake that speaks solely in riddles
He torments the prince with the idea of home-
a taste of his poison would immediately end his roam
But deigning him too innocent, he decides to leave,
of thoughts of his frail rose, the prince unhappily grieves
He had left her vulnerable, without even her dome of glass..
how could he be certain peril wouldn't pass?

Eventually, a huge, rose garden- he comes across,
and for a moment the prince is stunned, at a complete loss
For they utterly resembled his very own rose,
and now there were thousands in a tiny enclose
He had considered his flower so special and unique,
and now his life as a prince seemed somber and bleak
It was a sudden, unwelcome, drop in his power-
for now he simply ruled over three mini volcanoes, and a flower

As the little prince sits on the grass, and copiously sheds tears,
next to him, a little fox stealthily appears
"Please play with me, I'm so lonely," the little prince cries
"Fine," says the fox sagely. "But first we must establish ties."
Through the fox's lesson, the prince comes to learn,
that what makes the vain rose a matter of his concern
was the time he invested in her love and care
that made her his flower- there was no other spare
So, what had made his rose so special to him-
was the fact that he responded to her every trivial whim
The fox's secret: What the heart comes across,
is what the eyes have missed and lost

Meanwhile, he befriends a young pilot, who had crashed from his plane,
together, the two lumber across the sandy lanes
As they do, an understanding friendship begins to form,
one based on trust and mystery- one very warm

Of his landing on the Earth- the prince's one year anniversary day,
the same, perplexing snake once again comes into play
The pilot fears the prince has become the victim of a bite
for he is terribly frightened, and is turning very white
He tells the pilot he must embark on a journey quite rough,
one that may span forever, one truly tough
The prince consoles him, by saying that the distant stars,
will hold a special meaning for him, despite being so far
for the pilot has shared such a firm, close bond
with someone who has lived in the beyond
The prince reasons by saying that his rose needs him,
someone to respond to her every shallow whim
So, as the snake strikes, the prince falls to the ground,
collapsing on the sand, with barely a sound

With this, the story comes to a close,
with the pilot wondering if the little prince reached his rose

(Taken from the novel by Antoine de Saint-Exupery)