Butterflys Unicorns and.... Puppies

One day in the not too distant past, my brother and I were discussing poetry online.  In passing I mentioned I had done some writing in the area.  As all good big brothers do, he asked to see some of it.  Happily complying I served up what I thought of as some of my best.  The clock ticked the seconds by, yet no response.  I have to say at this point I was getting quite nervous.  Had I over estimated my writing skills and he was now howling with laughter, wiping the tears from his eyes?  Or worse, was he sadly shaking his head, trying to frame the least painful response to me?  What had I done?  I value his opinion above all others.  He is a very intelligent, gifted writer.  What was I thinking???

Eventually the response came, I was dreading to see what he had written.  Let me see if I can remember and list his statements for you:

Where is the Lithium when you need it?
Holes are seared into my eyes.
It took me so long to respond because I had to clear out the black smoke rolling from my monitor.
And last, but not least, POE HAS NOTHING ON YOU.

Ok, so I take it he thought my writing somewhat dark.  He DIDN'T say he didn't like it.   That's a start!  After a somewhat long and convoluted question and answer session concerning my mental health, he gave me list of words to use in a poem and submit for his review.  Some of the words were Butterflys, Sunshine, Puppies, and Unicorns.  Below I have copied my creation.  I hope you enjoy reading it as much as I did writing it.  I never did really get a response back from Big Brother.  Not sure what that meant...

Out of the mist strode the regal Unicorn
Tossing its head and swinging its horn
Into the bright sunlight
‘Twas such a beautiful sight
Above its fine head did glow
A magnificent rainbow
Most think it a gentle beast
But most have never witnessed the feast
As the Unicorn walked along
One could almost hear its song
It raised its foot to take a step
Then held it there as if to prep
Looking down, the Unicorn gave a sigh
Then crushed below, a small butterfly
It raised its lip in an evil grin
Knowing the butterfly didn’t win
With a look of glee on its face
It continued on its merry pace
Ahead in the distance it spotted a puppy
The unicorn smiled and thought, “How lucky!”
With a snort and a yell
Upon the puppy it fell
One small flick of its horn
And half into the puppy was shorn
The Unicorn knelt down
And with nary a sound
Except for a slight crunch
It ate its small lunch
Why do I tell this you might ask?
Because I was given a simpleton task
A task to write a poem so sweet
That it would be a real treat
A treat for my one and only brother
My big brother, there is no other
To him my poetry was black and sad
And he asked me to pen one that wasn’t so bad
Butterflys, rainbows, sunshine: My quest
Unicorns and puppies, give it my best
So here you are dear brother of mine
Your sweet, happy poem, do you think it fine?
I hope that I have made you proud
And that you are able to shout out loud
To the world you can cry, That’s it! I give up!
But please don’t drink from the poisoned cup
Hell no I DO not need a shrink!
As all is not lost, no matter what you may think
I am fine, just penning this for you
Cause I feel bad I made you blue.
I’m sorry I made your monitor turn black
And the smoke from it caused your air to lack
As you said, Poe has nothing on me
So glad I was able to make you see!

K.S.
10/19/2009