The Donkey and the Thistle
“Shy but willing, like an ass at a thistle”
Longford saying about a person interested but hesitant and afraid to pursue what they desired, be it in love or in life…
The thistle grew as thistles do
At the meadows border edge
The donkey grazed as donkeys do
And looked out over the hedge
Beneath its nose the thistle grows
Greatly the donkey desired to eat
For the taste it desired a lust in it inspired
Though afraid of its prickles beneath
Some folk who like flowers call the thistle a weed
More folk who like plants call it a wild flower
To a donkey its the loveliest of the plants for to eat
If only it had the willpower…
But no, this donkey shied away
Left the thistle for another to be enjoyed and eaten
Brayed of its hunger to all that would listen
Its own fear proving self defeating!