Why was
The Ugly Duckling
shunned
out of his nest?
He was an eyesore
to the others..
for, he was unlike
all of the rest.

They laughed at him,
and couldn’t wait
to see him
leave their hearts
and minds.
And as for him?
The Ones
he rocked with
made him
feel erased..
and dead inside.

Who is to blame?
The Ugly Duckling?
Or his friends?
I would say neither..
Both of them
lived truthfully
and ultimately
did what’s best.

Because
The Ugly Duckling
never did belong
with those
who couldn’t fathom
who he truly was.
The only way
for him to learn
his beauty
was to be
abandoned
by the others..
left to gaze
at his reflections
on the surface
of a pond.

And in the solitude
of his reflection..
What did
The Ugly Duckling
see?
Was it his ugliness?
It wasn’t..
He beheld The Swan!
Magnificent
in all his deadly majesty.