A Dream in the Swamp

In the quiet of the swamp where the fireflies roam,
Shrek sat with a heart that never felt like home.
He watched her from shadows, so strong, so bright,
While he hid his soul in the cover of night.

Fiona came gently, with hands soft and true,
She saw past the scars, the green, the hue.
She held him with words, with laughter, with grace,
And slowly, he bloomed in her loving embrace.

But silence was his armor, worn deep in his chest,
He feared if he spoke, he'd ruin the rest.
He loved her in silence, too scared to confess,
Not knowing her love could handle the mess.

They built a dream, in whispers and sighs,
With ogre-born children and lullaby skies.
But love is not freedom when blood draws the line,
And family hands crush what should've been mine.

"She's not for you," they barked through their pride,
"They'll hunt you, they'll chain you, if she's by your side."
And Shrek, too weary, too broken to fight,
Let go of his heaven, slipped into the night.

No cradle will swing to their children's cries,
No swamp will echo with lullabies.
The vision once warm now cold as stone,
A true family dream with fiona will die alone.

Fiona still waits with fire in her chest,
But he won't return he thinks it's for the best.
She made him believe, then watched him let go,
To save her from pain, he drowned in his own.

So hang up the photo that will never be,
Of Shrek, Fiona, and kids by the sea.
Frame it in sorrow, in love that can't stay,
A dream carved in mud… then taken away.