Poem: "Greater Than the Sum"
This is the linkback poem for the March 6, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl, originally hosted by DW user Dialecticdreamer. It came out of the January 2018 Creative Jam. It was inspired by a prompt from DW user Freshbakedlady. It also fills the "thistle" square in my 4-1-17 card for the Month of Rainbows Bingo fest. This poem belongs to the Yellow Unicorns series.
"Greater Than the Sum"
The unicorn has
the size and long legs
of a horse, able to graze
on the lush green grass.
They live in herds made of
many mares and one stallion,
but it is the boss mare who leads.
The unicorn has the cloven hooves and
surefooted grace of a goat, and
the iron stomach as well.
They can range far up
the side of a mountain,
browsing on tender buds
and the bark of trees.
Not even the sharp thorns
of the thistle can dissuade them.
The mares give milk that can
heal any illness, and the stallions
have horns that can heal any injury.
The mares have shorter horns,
but both they and the stallions
can open locks with theirs.
The unicorn has the spine of a lion,
and the fierce heart as well.
They can burst into speed,
flex and flow around obstacles,
even land on their feet after a fall.
But those who dare to corner a unicorn
will never live to tell the tale.
The unicorn wears a coat of
the hidden color, luminous yellow,
invisible in the ordinary way of things, and
revealed only by the awe of that which is holy.
Protected from thicket and thistle,
they pass unhindered through
the heart of the woods, golden ghosts
afloat in the collective subconscious.
Horse, goat, and lion -- the unicorn is
truly greater than the sum of its parts.
"Greater Than the Sum"
The unicorn has
the size and long legs
of a horse, able to graze
on the lush green grass.
They live in herds made of
many mares and one stallion,
but it is the boss mare who leads.
The unicorn has the cloven hooves and
surefooted grace of a goat, and
the iron stomach as well.
They can range far up
the side of a mountain,
browsing on tender buds
and the bark of trees.
Not even the sharp thorns
of the thistle can dissuade them.
The mares give milk that can
heal any illness, and the stallions
have horns that can heal any injury.
The mares have shorter horns,
but both they and the stallions
can open locks with theirs.
The unicorn has the spine of a lion,
and the fierce heart as well.
They can burst into speed,
flex and flow around obstacles,
even land on their feet after a fall.
But those who dare to corner a unicorn
will never live to tell the tale.
The unicorn wears a coat of
the hidden color, luminous yellow,
invisible in the ordinary way of things, and
revealed only by the awe of that which is holy.
Protected from thicket and thistle,
they pass unhindered through
the heart of the woods, golden ghosts
afloat in the collective subconscious.
Horse, goat, and lion -- the unicorn is
truly greater than the sum of its parts.