30d30w: word 24

birthday  

secret whistles,
fiery code…

              nothing.
happy wrapping
hides the empty

         cage. 

something whispers…

furry coat?

               thumping?

sniffing whiskers? 

subtle wishes,

buried hope…
                surprise!

It's interesting that some of you intrepid adventurers into crowd-sourced poetry thought "buried hope" brought on more sadness.  To me those words indicated little seeds of returning hope that might spring into--well, surprise!  I appreciated Laura's sense that a stronger transition might be needed here, so close to the end of the poem.  And what's a birthday without a surprise? 

Now, while some writers do serious historical and cultural research, I tend to go with my sense of things and how they be.  Now and then, however, I have to check on my sense of how things be just to make sure I'm right, and I'm happy to say that a quick Google Images check confirms that rabbits, hamsters, mice, gerbils, dogs and foxes all have whiskers.  Also raccoons.  And most other mammals.  They're actually called vibrissae, and as so often happens, I just got sucked into reading a LOT about whiskers and how they work and now I'm late and have to stop and just say:  we have a lot of options, folks!  Thanks for playing!