Snarl

Story-poem, a metaphor for overcoming a group of bullies.

The taunts of her peers had driven her to this dark wood

With their jeers and jibes and jokes.

But now she faced a more physical danger:

A pack of hungry, snarling wolves.

Their teeth were bared and their throats growled in chorus

As she looked round the forest in fear.

There was no way out, they had her surrounded

And now they were closing in.

Should she fight them?

No, she didn’t have the strength,

That had drowned in the room where she wept.

Give in then?

There seemed no other option.

She had no help

She had lost that when she blocked everyone out and slammed the door.

They were strong, confident, focused.

She was… alone.

But really, the pack were just following their leader.

Without her they would be lone wolves,

Without direction, disorganised, vulnerable.

Without them, the Alpha was just one enemy.

She could fight just one enemy, couldn’t she?

At least she could try.

But how?

Fire!

Scatter them.

Then go in for the attack while they are panicking.

She set up little fires near each of the wolves

Letting them feed on the oxygen the wolves breathed into them

Until they grew so big they caused them, one by one,

To desert their leader.

One on one.

Prey vs Predator.

Her one advantage? She’d been attacked before and lived to tell the tale.

The Alpha was unchallenged.

With her fiercest teeth and sharpest claws on show

She snarled back at the beast before her,

Fire glinting in her eyes.

All her hurt and anger, the frustration at the unfairness of it and the hate for the one who caused it was captured in that snarl.

Loud, clear and menacing;

Confidence and conviction emanating from her stance.

The Alpha wavered.

Who was this pathetic girl to challenge her?

She retorted with her usual derogatory snarl, taking a step forwards

But the force of the response she got pushed her back.

The girl threw everything she had ever received back at the Alpha.

The power of all those hurtful little words,

Like bee stings individually

Were like an army together.

The Alpha could not fight against an army;

Not when her pack had deserted her.

The Alpha retreated into the darkness,

Leaving the girl victorious.

She could go back now holding her head high.

They wouldn’t dare challenge her now,

Not even together.

Not after they saw what she had done to their leader.

She was free.

Author's Note

This poem was written as part of a game where someone gives you a word and you have to make a poem about it in a time limit. You can add extra rules such as poem style etc if you like. Try it sometime! :)