Plucking the Poison Parrot Number 22

The poison parrot is repulsed by me, hates my art, laughs at my poems. sneers when I enter my imaginary world, pokes fun at it. She throws roadblocks into my mood zone, destroys my great ideas as fast as they enter my dendrite alley. You think you are something! Ha! She laughs. You are less than nothing. No one will like that. It is too sassy, too bright, too snotty, too tall, too snarly. She snips away at me, chopping little pieces off, as I try not to cry. You are an idiot! She yells at me, her favorite pastime. Poison Parrot managed to hold me down, away from myself, for years. She held me hostage in a prison I helped her build; I cowered in a scared way. Until I met Savior Boy. Savior Boy did not know about Poison Parrot, for when I was around him, I was confident, witty, sassy, fun, out-going and memorably lovely. He let me do his homework, and he received good grades, praising me to high heaven. The closer we became. the more self-assured I became, assertive genius oozed out of me. Poison Parrot was fearful now, she saw she was losing her grip. She began yelling louder than ever. “You are an idiot! You are worthless! You are a loser!” I stopped hearing her. Savior Boy’s love and respect helped me to clip her wings, and tape her beak. By the time our children arrived, I had re-invented my self-talk. I was now being talked to by Sophie, a dynamic, self-assured, marvelous pixie queen who believed in herself, and everyone else. I released Poison Parrot and let her limp away, saving no face at all, after Sophie arrived. Plucking the Poison Parrot Number 156 Written: 1-6-2019 Sponsor: Maureen McGreavy