Fading Memories

A leopard dashes through the snow 
Hoping to survive what’s down below 
But to his surprise, the leopard stopped 
For with what he saw his heart dropped 
A little boy in his classes 
Loses his focus, his attention strays 
A smack of her ruler on his glasses 
Forced him to return the gaze. 
“What are you doing? No fooling around!” 
The teacher said, her face frowning 
The class laughed, the teacher frowning 
The boy returned to work, face flushing. 
The leopard snapped out of his trance, his eyes tearful 
He looked back at what he pictured as regretful 
Why is he seeing this? What did this mean? 
A rumble made him skip this self-glean. 
The thing below was moving once more 
His muscles tightened and he hurried towards a door 
That had been left there, never opened 
The leopard’s eyes closed, a motion un-omened. 
It was recess, no class right then 
The boy decided to play around with his friends 
When he talked to them, rudeness was returned 
In the form of jokes, names, and mocking words. 
Four-eyes, Attention Deaf-ecit, you name it 
The poor kid didn’t even get the worse of it 
They laughed and laughed ‘till it was time to leave 
The boy agreed. It was time to leave. 
The leopard woke up, the thing close behind 
He got up with a start, but only felt more confined 
Who was this kid? Why was he so familiar? 
He felt his posture lose its figure. 
The leopard slowly trotted towards the door 
The only salvation lay a few feet across the floor 
The leopard, feeling the thing’s breath on his back 
Saw the thing, and nearly gave him a heart attack 
The boy had no friends, no family to cry to 
He had no dreams, no fears, no regrets 
His condition made him useless, it was a curse 
It would be better if he wasn’t in this world. 
The boy opened a silver box 
And from it, he drew a knife 
He believed he should be sadder about this 
But it was better this way, he thought 
With his knife raised to the throat 
A deep breath in, and all went black. 
The leopard was staring at himself 
A mirror image 
He realized exactly why, and it made him cry 
For the boy and he were the same. 
He was the boy, the poor little soul 
Who killed himself many years ago 
Doomed himself to a life without end 
Running from things he couldn’t comprehend. 
The leopard- nay, the boy struggled away 
Only to find the thing close; to his dismay 
For he could not get away 
Though the reason, he was scared to say. 
The poor white cat ran through the snow 
Slowly forgetting those many years ago 
Attention slipped, memory fading 
Until only a small spark remained. 
As the final sliver of memory waned 
The boy felt himself slipping away 
And with one final word of regret 
The boy faded away, the leopard did forget. 
As the leopard raced through the snow alone 
He pondered why he ran like so 
A rumble occurred, the thing was back 
The leopard ran away, trying to find his way back. 
The door remains closed to this day 
What is in it, no one can say 
However, keep it dear in mind 
The leopard never made it out alive.
Category:Poetry
Category:Wheel of Misfortune 2022
Category:Animals