Unicorn by Lynn White

I shouldn’t have done it.

I’ve always shunned

the spotlight,

always feared it.

Unlike the horses and dogs

who play the game,

perform,

do what’s expected

by their human providers,

by their audience.

I’ve always been afraid

of being seen

onstage

just in case

I was taken short

and golden notes

fell from my arse

and made

rainbows

brighter

than the spotlight,

upsetting

the lighting engineers.

I think we’re all the same,

we unicorns,

shy creatures.

That’s why we’ve

survived,

hiding

in dreams.

Bio

Lynn White lives in north Wales. Her work is influenced by issues of social justice and events, places and people she has known or imagined. She is especially interested in exploring the boundaries of dream, fantasy and reality. She has been nominated for Pushcarts, Best of the Net and a Rhysling Award. Find her online here and here.

Author's note

I love myths and legends, As a child I borrowed my cousin's book of Greek legends so often she gifted it to me! Unicorns and the myths surrounding them fascinate me—the idea of golden pooh, for example. In this poem I imagine them possibly inhabiting myths and dreams as we've come to believe or just maybe being a real creature so shy and successful at hiding that we can never be sure.

This piece was first published by Pilcrow and Dagger in January 2016.