The Real LJ Idol * Season 11 * Week 25: The Catbird's Seat
You thought you were sitting
pretty, dainty toes wrapped
around slim necks,
so only your song rang
over the treetops to open
ears, amplified through
gossiping mouths, the entire forest
a susurrous cacophony of your twisty tall tales.
You fluffed your feathers and strutted on the
backs of loved ones, expecting
them to applaud you after you pressed
their faces into mud, so you wouldn’t
have to dirty your own underbelly.
Soft and vulnerable insecurities
roiling in your gut hidden by the
plumage and disguised by the
height of a perch you strove
toward, breath squeezed in your
throat, eyes bulging from the effort
of pretending you were something better
than every other creature in the wilderness.
There are predators licking their chops in the
brush, forked tongues flicking in the
air to taste all the lies you caterwauled,
teeth gleaming in the brilliant sunlight of
their lantern truths, muscles rippling up
trees and around branches, steadily
climbing to the highest heights for a meal
long deserved and wholly satisfying.
***
If you liked this poem, please go to the poll to vote for it and check out the other entries! https://therealljidol.livejournal.com/1144899.html
The poll closes Thursday, June 25th at 9pm EDT
pretty, dainty toes wrapped
around slim necks,
so only your song rang
over the treetops to open
ears, amplified through
gossiping mouths, the entire forest
a susurrous cacophony of your twisty tall tales.
You fluffed your feathers and strutted on the
backs of loved ones, expecting
them to applaud you after you pressed
their faces into mud, so you wouldn’t
have to dirty your own underbelly.
Soft and vulnerable insecurities
roiling in your gut hidden by the
plumage and disguised by the
height of a perch you strove
toward, breath squeezed in your
throat, eyes bulging from the effort
of pretending you were something better
than every other creature in the wilderness.
There are predators licking their chops in the
brush, forked tongues flicking in the
air to taste all the lies you caterwauled,
teeth gleaming in the brilliant sunlight of
their lantern truths, muscles rippling up
trees and around branches, steadily
climbing to the highest heights for a meal
long deserved and wholly satisfying.
***
If you liked this poem, please go to the poll to vote for it and check out the other entries! https://therealljidol.livejournal.com/1144899.html
The poll closes Thursday, June 25th at 9pm EDT