Draft in the author’s style. This poem was written for Poet in Wonderland to sit beside the author’s own readings, and is waiting for the author’s review. The commentary is a working draft too.
In the last of the silver forests, where the snow was soft as sleep,
There lived the last of the unicorns, and she wandered there to weep.
Her horn was white as moonlight, and her mane was spun of frost,
But she'd wandered through the winters, and she felt so lonely-lost.
A girl who'd lost her mother came and sat beside her there,
And she said, I am lost as well, so let us wander side by side.
They wandered through the snowfall, and they shared a silent grief,
And the girl's warm hand on the unicorn's cheek gave a little sweet relief.
The unicorn said, I have one wish, and I give it to you, dear,
May your heart be light, and your days be bright, and may the ones you love be near.
The girl went back to the village with a heart that was warmer than snow,
And the unicorn's horn glowed brighter, and the whole forest seemed to glow.
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Commentary
Two lonely creatures meet in a snowy forest, one the last of her kind and one a girl who has lost her mother. The poem shows how shared sorrow can become a gift.
“In the last of the silver forests, where the snow was soft as sleep,” lives “the last of the unicorns.” Her “horn was white as moonlight, and her mane was spun of frost,” but she feels “lonely-lost.” A girl “who’d lost her mother” comes and says, “let us wander side by side.”
They walk through the snowfall and “shared a silent grief.” The unicorn says, “I have one wish, and I give it to you, dear, may your heart be light, and your days be bright.” The girl returns “with a heart that was warmer than snow,” and the forest glows.