I wasn’t homeless, but was hungry; my masters were cruel – inhuman, if you please. Powerful, invincible and at peace, that’s how you would describe me – I was an eagle afterall. Then came The Expedition, they were all gone by the time I became me again – the opposition won, squished my masters like a worm, but I was left, face to face with a good looking young man – he was the Prince.
How lucky I felt, that it was finally all over – the reign of tyranny was gone, the Prince would adopt me – still a bird of prey, yet his choicest pet.
But he wouldn’t put me in a cage, no! He had me roam about and savour my freedom, but I would always come back bruised all over; you didn’t know eagles fought each other, did you?
Something I didn’t tell you: I wasn’t the only one with my former masters, I was in fact, the weakest of all; my survival was all thanks to how well I could embrace defeat and never raise my head.
Here we’re at peace, the Prince doesn’t have many a wars, he is a gentleman; felt like he had all the time in the world, we would play into the night, laughing hard as we both had the might.
I thought he loved me, thought my world was perfect until one day I awoke flightless – works well for ostriches, but not so an eagle; ‘the glory of an eagle is its wings’ they say, but I lost mine, my wings were clipped, fastened to my sides by clasps I never knew exist – the kind an eagle’s strength would not twist.
Maybe they’re all the same, people are wicked; I should have known better, I was such a fool. Would that he had put me in a cage, I would a free bird yet remain, not a useless flightless bird by metal clasps restrained.
He left me in the fields to roam like a hen, he served me freshly killed meat, he was still so tender – I could still see affection in his eyes; he had me confused, I was angry yet loving him, he was far too kind.
Wish he would just talk, open his mouth and tell me why; why he had my wings clipped, why he made a chicken out of me.
I am flightless, without my six-foot wings, without my pride; but yet powerful, invincible and at peace – I am an eagle still.
🍂 De-paule, 2015