literature

Behind a Mask

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Literature Text

The face of a wolf
The face of a dog
The face of a cat
Or that of a wild tiger
The mask does not cover the face alone
No, it extends to the shoulders
It covers the arms
Stretches down the legs
Enlarges the hands and feet
It reaches to the tip of a limp sweeping tail
The mask is a body that encloses the individual inside
Covers the human that supports and drives it
Though, while unseen
Eyes forget about the Man
They see the suit
They recoil in disgust.

What they see is not human
A taboo, an act so unnatural
That it earns their scorn
Their frowns
Their biting insults and condemning, beating ridicule
The person ceases to be a human
When they enter the suit
When they adopt a playful persona that had been hidden within them
A character of their making that is wrong because it is an animal
It is forbidden and strange
They become the furry
They become the freak
When all they are
From head to foot
Are people with different imaginations
Each, a perfectly unique human being.

No
Humans cannot wear paws
They were given hands and feet
They cannot have snouts or tall pointed ears
The tail that sweeps must be cut off
Shear off the ears
Tear off the fur
Until you are satisfied with what you now see
Left will be a human, bare and normal
Yes, kill off the persona
Break the spirit
Torture them with painful words and hatred
Yes, that is the correct thing to do
Leave the tattered, furry corpse on the floor
Trampled, torn, mutilated
Only a paw-less, tail-less human being
Can be a good human being.

Don't you feel better?
Self-sustained hatred is marvelous
Ignorance is the needed fuel
March on with your witch-hunt
Slaughter the imaginations of those who have different thoughts
Suppress the revolting chimeras that so disturb you
Aren't you the righteous murderer?
Your hand that abuses is so well supported
A majority add their own blows
So you are the great, superior one.

All I see are fools.
For :iconlive-love-write: prompt

"This week's (June 22nd to June 29th) writing prompt is:

“Behind a Mask”

That face is hidden, but what lies behind the mask that never seems to leave?


You can feel free to write about a fiction scenario, mythological characters, etc as long as your submission is original."

.... :cough:
And I am not a furry (I just know some people who are), though there isn't anything wrong with being a furry. I'm just not drawn to participate in the furry fandom.
People seem to assume that being a furry automatically means that there is a fetish involved, but that's not true. Not all furries even have "fur-suits" (costumes) - because they don't want them or because a custom made suit would be too expensive - or for whatever reason.
:shrug:
It would be like saying that every anime fan who cosplays a character has some odd fantasy about that character and is obsessed with hentai - or anything like that. It doesn't mean there aren't people who are into the more "graphic/mature rated" aspects of anime, but not every anime fan is involved in that "graphic/mature rated" activity.

I thought that this fit the prompt - plus it was interesting to write this poem - I'd never written about the topic before.

If I get any negative responses, I'm sure they'll be interesting.

(ALSO don't assume that I myself - the poet - am the speaker in this poem)
© 2012 - 2024 death-in-the-orchard
Comments6
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electricorat's avatar
this is so awesome... I've never really thought of "furries" as that odd, they're just expressing themselves! this is a beautiful piece of literature and I hope you're proud of it :)