Komodo dragon
It never knew
how big it was
until it was caged
behind ribs, stolen
from the island
trying to sweat a new skin
on the ship’s starboard deck.
It talks but no one talks back,
too ugly to watch closely,
too strange to trust alone.
How could we? The second
you fall asleep, it escapes.
© Margot Douaihy 2006
