A Modern Faery Tale

Once upon a time There was a man Who lost his job And his home And his car And he slept under a tree. Simpleton that he was, He never gave thought To asking the oak's permission. But the majestic old tree, Being wise in its great age, Suffered the unlucky human To lie there in grateful repose Between two of its massive, Outspreading roots. And there were visitors, Unseen and unheard By the man but who, For their own secret reasons, Took an interest in him. So these playful beings Found a way to indulge Their sense of mischief Whilst helping the man Avoid further calamities To his person. The woods where he slept, You see, were privately kept, And others like himself would, On occasion, Pass close by that spot. Well, the man was of a mind To sleep well past the dawn. But the toilers began Their day early, so it would Be only a short march of time Before their paths Would finally cross. So the task at hand For the imps Or the elves Or the ghosties Or the faeries Lay in devising clever ways Of rousing the man Without ever revealing to him Their own true nature. Once, for example, they bounced a Large, round, feather-light something Off the side of his sleepy head. It felt like a giant nerf ball but was Nowhere to be seen immediately after. On another occasion, they directed A friendly little toad To land with a thud within inches Of his horizontal face. But in other instances They acted more boldly; Tickling his hair, Grabbing him by the shoes, Or yanking on an elbow. The only time he thought to ignore Such a silent sort of "By yore leave, yer slumberin' Grace", He only just avoided a confrontation With some early-morning workers. But Serendipity finally intervened, And after the passage of a fortnight or so, This man's situation changed yet again, And he no longer had to sleep upon the earth. But a peculiar thing occurred, you see. Being accustomed to regular attention from His entertaining unseen guardians, The man found himself unwilling to return To the bland comforts of a regular bed. And thus it was only by Withdrawing their favors That they compelled him to Quit that place for good. And then, reluctantly, with yet Further pointless delays, I finally said my goodbyes And left that place as I found it.