Hugging tightly to your inanimate love
Swaying it like you should be swayed yourself
Sung a high octave lullaby, to which everyone replies
There are no arms growing out from the woodwool
Only yours, in that little corner of the room, just meant for you
No one to show you how to fight
Your mother, a kid her self didn’t know what to do
All the decisions now made by you
You’re nervous, skittish, delicate and small
Your cousin teases and chases
And your over-reactive screams only prove what I know
You’re at the bottom of the pile, a shunned little child
I’m sure you have highs in between your lows
Did I just come at a bad time?
But it was just like last time
I’m told it’s hard to fit in
For a orphan of your predicament
The youngest shows you kindness and concern
But maybe one day, social climbing is learned
And she’ll be rough as her sister
Plus the maniac crowds can only hinder
It’s a slow process as it is, but this busy air
Will slow you still
I noticed as the day draws on, and the rush has gone
You edge forward a short distance
Underneath a platform, venturing for a second
Tottering back to safety with cries of alarm
You never let go of your woodwool mum
You eat your greens with just one hand
All the other three gripped on tight
It strikes me how pretty you are, a special little face
And ******* marble eyes
A thick frizzy wreath of hair frames your tiny skull
Not one lies out of place
How anyone could not love you, I don’t know
When you’re alone, with only your father
I beckon you over, I'm charmed
You shuffle forward with curiosity
You seem so slightly calmer, you still have far to go
I tell you how sweet you are, pretend to groom your shoulders
Then in crashed Malaika, throwing her weight
How dare you leave your corner space!
She kicks and pushes you, back to where you sat
I try not to make a scene, hold back the urge to intervene
“Shake her hand and be nice!”
We try again a couple more times, peace at last
You watch me still, I take your picture, give you a pep talk
It’s not a sweet life as the underdog
I was a kid like you, unpopular, picked on
But you should know Lopori, you rock!
Lopori is a drop-dead gorgeous two year old bonobo who has problem intergrating with her group because she has no mother. She relies on zoo keepers and her other bonobo family members, and kids being kids, another juvenile (Malaika, featured in another poem) alternates between rough play and physical bullying of Lopori.
