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Dispatches for the Colonial Office

                                    Ode on a Monitor Lizard

I saw a picture of a monitor lizard
Its skin is scaley and its tongue is scissored
I’d back away from that wrinkly old wizard -
I don’t want to be ground up in its gizzard!

Stolen glances and veiled desires
A burning love with hidden fires
Through it all came a spark
A forbidden bond within the dark
Whispered secrets hearts aflame
Meeting in shadows a love untamed
People condemn a cruel decree
But loves embrace sets them free
Stolen moments bittersweet
Love is their treasure but incomplete
Both yearning deep within their souls
For loves destiny now takes control

She is more than fur and purr,
more than the soft weight curled at my feet.
In her green eyes,
lined in nature’s own ink,
is a quiet knowing,
as if she has read the stars
and carries their secrets in her gaze.
Her heart is pure. She loves deeply.

Her presence hums like an old song,
a melody of alleys and warm hands,
of survival and trust hard-won.
She is striking not for her beauty alone,
but for the story she wears
like a second coat.

Look long enough,
and you will see
a soul,
fierce and tender,
choosing me every day.