A bird
A lion
A wolf
What does it mean to be these three symbols?
These symbols of mighty elements just like the wind, the earth, and water, that their powers have no boundaries.
All of these majestic creatures are strong and courageous by nature, but what if the lifestyle was dramatically changed.
The bird would never learn how to soar through the skies,
The lion would never learn how to be a leader and a protector, and the wolf …
The wolf would never learn how to stand up for itself to show others that they were here and they were strong.
Aspects taken away from the animals would cause them to lose themselves and lose in survival.
We are the same, you and I, so why do we do these things to ourselves?
Why do we tell others that they can’t succeed if we can’t do what others can do?
Why must we be quiet and selfish when we could be as loud as a lion’s roar for others to hear?
Why are we told that we must fall in line to this long list of expectations and act “as normal as possible” if we were meant to stand out from one another.
That’s what we are meant to do.
Be the beast.
I wanted to write about something that could inspire someone, but I didn’t want to make a cheap basic one where it says “You make a difference.” I wanted to step out of the boundaries and do something that relates to animals. I wanted to take in the aspects of three animals, birds, lions, and wolves; things that people could relate to or have to know something about. I used personification to compare these animals, who are symbols of freedom, bravery, and strength; things that we need to grow and mature. I wanted the readers to see how these animals were praised just by their existence, and then asked them a question that took a drastic change in these animals that would take their praise away. I then compared both the animals and people to convey the message that there’s something that makes us strong, but it can be taken away from ourselves. Finally, I wanted to think of a time that they saw or felt someone taking away their or other’s strength or their power. I close off the poem with some advice and with the title of the piece.
I enjoyed reading this poem it was really inspiring, and I liked how she used the the different animals to compare their uniqueness.
--Simric Luna