The Owl and the Leopard
By: Thooyaa Gnanavel
This is a poem about my abusive and exploitative marriage. For anyone who has endured narcissistic abuse and rage. Don't let anyone clip your wings. Know yourself and your worth - before it's too late. The pain of leaving a relationship like this is far less than wasting your life away trying to repair it. Reach for freedom and trust yourself.
An Owl returned from flying free,
to a Leopard sleeping in her tree.
A sudden panic she would feel,
she had a home that he could steal.
Owl worked hard to build her nest.
She'd have to try to protect it at best.
With her brave, but tired wings,
she flew down closer to settle things.
The Leopard stirred in his sleep
and woke up, startled, with a leap.
"I'm not here to harm, and I have nothing to give," he said.
"I just need a warm, safe bed."
Reluctant was the Owl to let him stay,
but she knew the game of life was hard to play.
The Owl dare say - "You can stay,"
"Together as a team, we can play."
"Thank you, love" the Leopard would say,
I promise to hunt for us each and every day."
"I'll give you light and in the night,
I'll protect our home with all my might."
Months flew by since the Leopard said,
but he still hadn't gotten out of bed.
The Owl flew on, bold and strong.
Soon, she realized something was wrong.
Every night she came back down,
to the Leopard consumed in his own.
When she would ask "what's up?"
he would say, "Empty is my cup."
Every day the Owl would fly,
through the traffic of the sky.
She'd find something for them to eat,
even if it meant, bloody feet.
One day the Owl was tired and sick,
she couldn't even lift up a stick.
She tried and tried,
and finally, she cried.
As a thousand times before,
He did it again, once more.
"I'll hunt tomorrow," the Leopard would state,
Owl began thinking, "this must be my fate."
She called his lies and told him not to speak.
Told him to stop making promises he couldn't keep.
That night, Owl fell asleep in a cloud of smoke.
The next morning, she awoke.
"It's your turn now," the Owl said.
Leopard snarled, "Watch it, or you'll be dead!"
The Owl jumped back in fear and dread,
She had been severely misled.
"Get off my tree if you can't be!" She screamed.
""Please don't crush all our dreams!"
The Leopard glared with eyes of fire,
Owl's feathers burned, her time was dire.
She took off into the sky to tumble and toss.
The rain and wind cooled her off.
When she returned, he was gone,
She sang herself a melancholy song.
Her home was broken and shred,
but she was grateful to have escaped with her head.
A month later the Leopard returned.
But the Owl was wiser from all she had learned.
At the sight of him, she floated above the tree,
and remained, out of reach. She was now free.
He can climb and be all sly, but a Leopard can never fly,
He doesn't have the wings to conquer the sky.