On Stolen Wings

A poem about arrogance.*

On pompous air he spreads his wings

Manipulation wielded mace

Aggression, insult, acid flung

On they who threaten aspired place

Imagination rife with lies

He thinks he’s reached the pinnacle

And so tells others, “Heed my will”

His urge to rule tyrannical

Yet truthfully he knows he lacks

The knowledge to top place to rise

And so hides careful urge to steal

All others strategies with lies

But when you must seek others ways

Having not what to succeed

Within yourself, entitled be

A shortcut sought in others lead

You cannot steal hard work or time

Spent learning, trying new found ways

Avoiding failure with some trials

Success thought won is but fake praise

So guard your tongue, the right’s not yours

To castigate for even if

You truly were all that you think

This wouldn’t give entitlement

For all of us have equal place

To speak, determine, share and lead

We’re all unique and talented

Respect, support should be our creed

Yet hearing not through egos voice

Which strokes his need to be adored

And thinks he’s better than the rest

Ignores relationships rewards

So flyboy flies on stolen wings

Approaching closer to the sun

But down he’ll fall like Icarus

No more to soar, his day is done.

*Not written about any single individual.

Natalie Frank (Taye Carrol) has had work featured in Haunted Waters Press, Weirdbook Magazine, Siren’s Call Publications, Lycan Valley Press and Zero Fiction among others. Her poetry has been featured in several anthologies. She is the Managing Editor for Novellas and Serials at LVP Publications.

If you enjoyed reading this poem, you might also enjoy these:

You can also find links to all of the articles, stories, fiction and poetry I publish on Medium here. Thanks for reading!