For their fiftieth anniversay,
He gave her a beast.
No one would ever call it that, of course
With its radiant white coat,
Infinitely gentle brown eyes
And most of all,
The legend of its power
And beauty.
It raised its head
To stare at her on the castle balcony.
No bridle covered its lovely head.
No groom held a pair of reins in his hand.
Instead, the animal's cloven hooves
Stood freely on the cobblestones.
She licked her lips
And turned to her husband.
"My lord, I am nearly speechless.
You know I am no maiden."
He kissed her cheek and replied, smiling,
"My love, have no fear."
He’d retained a way with animals
And an instinct for charms and remedies that
She’d never encountered in purely human folk,
So she descended the stone staircase
Circling the cold newel stairs,
And the animal did approach her
As if sensing the loneliness in her heart
Matched by its own.
She cradled its head,
Avoiding the horn
Pointing toward her face.
She dared not prick her finger
As in another immortal tale.
Instead, she stroked the soft mane
And wondered why, in this half-century
Of consecrated wedding vows,
legendary love,
and near-fairy tale bliss,
She and her husband
Had never created
A single life in her womb.
The villagers remained too afraid
or superstitious
To pass on their own babes
No matter how ill or frail.
So all her bairns
Wore feathers or fur or scales.
Today, she caressed the unicorn.
Her tears dripped into its shining coat
But she called up to her husband,
"My lord, she is beautiful,”
And kissed her newest beast.
Art: "Woman with Unicorn" by Giorgione, 1510
