inspire me

A fence, beyond it: a boy

He sits, and thinks, and smiles.

That smile, beyond it must be a thought.

He never told them about his thoughts —

Their shapes, their sizes or their colours.

Each day, while work and worry waltzed wildly,

He thought and a smile danced about his lips.

Is it a unicorn inside his head? Silvery white,

Sparkling amongst emerald blades,

Racing perhaps with an eagle’s shadow

Or drinking from a sapphire stream.

Maybe someday he’ll grab a pen,

Some pages; then grab his thoughts

By the scruff of their necks and

Put them behind bars of another kind.

He will bind the free unicorn, the free eagle

With chains of ink and links of lined paper,

Grant them the immortality of printed words

For us; we shall take a peep inside his head.

Maybe so. Maybe not. But what thoughts cross

His head now, when that naive smile appears?

From what wonderland do they come

Parcelled in silk, tied neat with a ribbon?

A fence, beyond it: a boy.

He sits—but the smile is gone.

Will you help me look for my unicorn?

I will. And so we sat down together, and

Thought.