This poem came out of the January 2018 Crowdfunding Creative Jam.  It was inspired by prompts from DW users Alexseanchai and Mdlbear.  It fills the "lights" square in my 7-1-17 card for the Winter Fest in July Bingo.  This is the perk poem for the February 6, 2018 Poetry Fishbowl, originally hosted by Dialecticdreamer.  It belongs to the unicorn series.




Unicorns are invisible
to ordinary sight, perceptible
only through mystical awareness --
in this numinous light they appear
in impossible shades of yellow.

They cannot be hunted;
to the hard of heart, they
simply fade from view.

Even the wolves cannot see them.

Wizards have studied the unicorns
and learned how to slip between
the fields of vision into the invisible.

It makes them harder to find,
harder to hurt, and in gratitude
they protect the unicorns who
graze beneath their towers.

But there is one predator that
even unicorns and wizards fear.

When the dragon shrimp rises
from the sea, its terrible eyes
defeat all forms of camouflage.

Its limbs lash out to stab and smash
whatever prey may come within reach.
Deadly balls of light and devastating thunder
emmanate from between its mighty claws.

The only warning of the dragon shrimp
is the flickering lights under the water,
so unicorns and wizards alike learn
to avoid such dangerous places.

Behind them, the mapmakers write,
Here there be dragon shrimp.

* * *

Notes:

Mantis shrimp have devastating natural attacks and surprisingly diverse eyesight.

Wolf vision is quite different from human vision.

Tags: cyberfunded creativity, fantasy, fishbowl, poem, poetry, reading, weblit, writing
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