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!

Families run drive by shootings
Pointing their phones to take a quick snap
Dragging their brood from base to base, "look at the lion!"
They point at his general direction
Without much regard for what they observe
They mindlessly lick their icecream, so don't read the signs.
Belch out the wrong names with assured ignorance
I'm not much better for I am a ******, resting on the ground
Staring in admiration in the bonobos' 3 walled lounge
Yet I absorb their being, learn each flinch and nuance
Their complexity should eclipse any human arrogance
And all but one ignore me, a little girl
With flicky black hair, large curious eyes and bandy limbs
A cute little girl, charismatic, adorable, wild
I show her my drink, I show her my toys, I show her my intentions
I smile. Her name is Malaika, she lives up to her name
Angelically pretty in her bonoboish way
She carries her sister on her back, her mother sits dignified
Slender and slight
I chase Malaika and she gallops away
She joins me with glee in our little game
she kicks the glass and I knock it back, she shakes her head
exposing her cheeky tongue and pulling a face
Unabashed I return the gesture, mirroring her apelike flamboyance
her imagination shatters glass, when I puckered my lips she kissed me back!
I held her attention for so long, I'll hold her friendship deep in my heart
I hear people come and go, obligatory point and click
running through from door to door, calling "baby monkey!"
I leave no room for shudders, my wonder drowns out the others
young children see it too, just another young being looking back through
But alas, mum tugs their harness, "time to get hotdogs I'm ****** starving"
Blindness is learned, though it's a habit easy to kick
I'm honoured to be in your presence, little Malaika
I'm flattered you find me intriguing, little Malaika
You run along now, join your mother and sister
Yet here I remain, stuck to the ground
Watching intently, mesmerised by their sound  
I don't want to leave, so relaxed I could sleep.
No time spent is wasted when it's spent in this room, just me and my cousins.
Just me and you.