“Unicorn Passing in the Night“
She is a study in beauty.
Legend says her mane glistens white
as the moon on a cloudless eve,
but she clothes herself in any color:
champagne, azure, emerald, lilac,
red as life’s blood, or black as death itself.
Legend says her single snow-white horn
glistening in moonlight cures poison,
plague, fevers, and the madness of rabid dogs,
but nothing of its sharpness,
its keen knife’s edge, its pointed menace,
its ability to pierce not just the veil
of starless nights but truth and flesh.
Legend says she is drawn to virgins and innocence.
but today she inhales pollution from passing cars,
the rot of butchered bodies buried in ruined forests,
and the desolation of urban decay
–yet she cleanses air like trees, exhales
the perfume of springtime flowers misunderstood as weeds.
She leaves, breaks wind with hues of ocean blue,
the violent violet of freshly pressed grapes,
the crimson flame of a forest fire,
the golden color of sunlight,
and the green of springtime grass
trailing moon gas in her wake.
If you listen closely, you can still hear her laughter.
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This poem was a challenge taken from a conversation with the lovely poet, Constance Plumley, to write an unfunny poem about a unicorn that “farts rainbows.” I hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!
*image courtesy of publicdomainpictures.net via Creative Commons License.
Cat Russell 