deepundergroundpoetry.com
Traps
It grew light,
the path was beckoning
and I felt an invisible hand grip my own.
Softly in my ear
a childlike voice began its whisper:
"Hurry, come now..."
The moon had lingered on in the morning sky
poking fun at the sun with its fullness
waiting until the carpet of mist was rolled up
from the forest floor
before it faded and slipped silently away.
The voice again.
At first the words seemed barely discernible
almost a jumbled foreign tongue
but I felt the grip on my hand tighten,
tiny urgent fingers insistent
with the strength and determination of time itself
and I was bound to follow.
There in a clearing
dappled sunlight spearing the hazel and birch
the unicorn lay panting,
desperate fury flashing from silver eyes
drowning in the sea of its own helplessness,
caught by the iron trap men had fashioned
from fire and hatred.
As I worked to prise open the cold metal jaws
I felt this proud animal's pity for my kind
penetrate my soul with the weight of ages
asking me:
"Has it always been so?"
Then one shake of the head,
a flash of white
and freedom.
And as I stood there alone
I understood that men
could never be free.
We were caught forever
by the traps we had made
for ourselves.
the path was beckoning
and I felt an invisible hand grip my own.
Softly in my ear
a childlike voice began its whisper:
"Hurry, come now..."
The moon had lingered on in the morning sky
poking fun at the sun with its fullness
waiting until the carpet of mist was rolled up
from the forest floor
before it faded and slipped silently away.
The voice again.
At first the words seemed barely discernible
almost a jumbled foreign tongue
but I felt the grip on my hand tighten,
tiny urgent fingers insistent
with the strength and determination of time itself
and I was bound to follow.
There in a clearing
dappled sunlight spearing the hazel and birch
the unicorn lay panting,
desperate fury flashing from silver eyes
drowning in the sea of its own helplessness,
caught by the iron trap men had fashioned
from fire and hatred.
As I worked to prise open the cold metal jaws
I felt this proud animal's pity for my kind
penetrate my soul with the weight of ages
asking me:
"Has it always been so?"
Then one shake of the head,
a flash of white
and freedom.
And as I stood there alone
I understood that men
could never be free.
We were caught forever
by the traps we had made
for ourselves.
Published 4th Dec 2009
| Edited 30th May 2013
All writing remains the property of the author. Don't use it for any purpose without their permission.
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comments 6
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4th Dec 2009 11:19am
what a piece! The imagery is astounding & to throw in that twist at the end of self perception, that we are our own worst enemies, we will be the destruction of ourselves.. brilliant!
4th Dec 2009 12:00pm
.. if only the whole world thought as you (hmm, that sounds like a good line...!)
Thanks K.
Thanks K.
4th Dec 2009 3:50pm
i agree with kandice on the imagery. absolutely spilling with it!
though when you described seeing the unicorn, i sniggered abit because it sounded like u were high on something. other than that... thought provoking!
though when you described seeing the unicorn, i sniggered abit because it sounded like u were high on something. other than that... thought provoking!
4th Dec 2009 5:14pm
Hah, ha - well it is in the fantasy section and I did think the invisible hand might give the game away, but your comment is interesting, thanks Celine (high on life, by the way).
27th Jul 2012 7:47am
27th Jul 2012 10:20am
Thanks for making me look at this again. I'd forgotten all about it. Glad you enjoyed ~ Abra