Satin Horns and Fairies

A satin horn pierces the ambient air,

The soft footfalls of his velvet hooves

Can be heard if you listen but stay very still

For you’ll frighten him if he hears that you moved.

With cautious advancement his black eyes are wide

As he follows the trail to a pond

And there in the moonlight stands the young unicorn

As a pixie alights on a frond.

With wings of stained glass, he glides to his side

And hovers as though to protect

For this exquisite creature is his friend and his charge

Any peril he will detect.

The unicorn plays in the waters resplendent

As spears of moonlight are flung

Over the bush lands where creatures dependent

Frolic in the night and are one.

And as morning unfurls while the bushland combusts

As the sunshine fires the sky

The promise of freedom jaunts along on the wind

While birds spread their wings as they fly.

And the unicorn heralds the fairies and sprites

To join him in one of his games

Then the land comes alive with colours so bright

As he gallops off, calling their names.

Now the fairies glide by on invisible wings

The elves and the sprites gaily laugh

Gathering flowers as they play and they sing

As they trip along different paths.

And finally they find him, their mentor, their friend

In an extraordinary painting of reign

Ready to play as he steps high and transcends

To pursue their fun and their games.

But as the sun fades and the thunderheads gather

Leaden clouds on the horizon will linger

And the breezes will blow, gently at leisure,

Reaching out with a tentative finger

To tousle his mane and gently tease at the wings

Of the fire flies who gather together

Under relative safety the verdant frond brings

To wait out the inclement weather.

Integrated and joined for the snatch of a moment

Ripples and ringlets entwined

As the raindrops cascade to the small pond below

And infinite circles unwind.

A swallow dips low and scours the surface

But she does not alight for a drink

So where do they go, these fleeing ripples and rings

In their hurried flight to the brink?

Moments slip by and the surface is limpid,

Unblemished by ripples retreat

And a rainbow descends on the distant horizon

Where the unicorn’s horn and sky meet.

The chirp of a bird, then laughter on wings

A kookaburra glides over the hills

As a gentle breeze plays, combing the grasses

And once again all is but still.

The fairies and elves emerge from their haven

Slowly at first, two by two

Holding fast to each other as they peek to beyond

To discover the sky has turned blue.

And then he appears, majestic and proud,

His satin horn shimmers under the sun

The unicorn steps furtively forward to play

And in the pond thus the ripples are one.