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.
