A mynah bird lit on my open window sill 

'Twas but a dream but nevertheless 

It seemed quite real

'Hey there, my man,' I said, as I had time to kill,  

'To what do I owe the pleasure of a visit  

From such a handsome and eloquent bill?'

He cleared his throat, and politely spoke 

As only a mynah can 

Then with a trumpeted bluster, croaked:

'Come one; come all to the Wattpad Masquerade Ball!

Under one death-defying tent

Meet your friends from around the world 

As you march two-by-two 

With each country's flag unfurled

We'll sing and dance 

And  take a chance 

Just like we always do, you know

Share poetry and prose 

With lows by those in the midst of woes 

And highs from others at the peak of throes  

And, of course, be joined by a couple of schmoes'

I scratched my head and rubbed my eyes 

This was a special bird, indeed  

Or else a brightly feathered spirit in disguise

'It can be London or Perth,' he continued  to crow, 

'Maybe Manila, Cape Town or Toron-to, 

While I'm thinking aloud, he said,  

Why not Chicago? 

Three days of peace

Three nights of love?

It would certainly be blessed, don't you know, from above'

'Doesn't sound bad,' I heard myself say 

But then let it go, since he was on a roll  

And evening invading the day

'Who's invited?' I queried, 'Who's in charge of this game?  

If everyone came, would it be alright

Or would that be completely insane? '  

'Why, you can, of course,' he replied, growing hoarse,

'And everyone reading or hearing my voice, 

There will be food and drink  

And time to think  

And poems and stories for listening,

Lots of smiles and hugs  

Tears and cold mugs  

And plenty of eyes a' glistening 

There'll be readings and such 

A buffet for lunch 

And dinner for a couple hundred

Forget not to call at the masquerade ball!

On the last of this three-night stand 

Where the men dance lightly  

And women dress tightly  

And everyone looking so grand

A princess, a witch 

A gorilla with an itch 

Sir Owain, dressed as a knight,

It'd be very groovy, like that Pink Panther movie 

With colored sparkling lights

In a flapper's beaded dress, though it'd be hard to tell,

We might hope for a visit from @kristebelle

Afterwards, In the moon's waning light 

As the clock's chorus heralds the middle of night 

Only then, in concert with bell-ringing peals,

Will the masks come off 

And true identities revealed'

I mused, 'This is a wonderful thought 

That this strange mynah bird has come here and brought' 

But just at that moment, he started to bolt,

'No, no, before you leave,' I said, 'I simply must know 

What you'd like to have, that is, if we go  

To the trouble of traveling the world 

And putting on such a spectacular show'

He paused for a moment 

Cocked his head as he preened, 

You see, a mynah bird's quite adept when he primps, it would seem 

'At those buffets,' he said, 'those glass bowls filled with ice...'

'Yes,' I answered, 'those are always quite nice'

'My only request is that you have some of those, 

That would certainly put the bloom on the rose' 

Then he added in a feathered huff  

Casual-like, a bit off the cuff, 

'If you don't mind too much, this is no time to scrimp, 

And they're best when beheaded, but can you bring lots of shrimp?'

He flew to a beauty waiting in a nearby tree 

But before out of range 

Before he could flee 

I yelled through the window with the loud voice of three;

'Your message' I shouted, 'is indeed, understood, 

I love your ideas, we'll do you real good'

And right then, don't you know, but he turned back and smiled, 

At a loss for words, I screamed, 

'THERE WILL BE SHRIMP!'  

But just a little too loud

© RDBrooks 2013