Pangolin
Unfurls its belly
Opens one eye
Stretches
Wanders from the forest
Into the marketplace
Leaps into a boiling pot
Dissolves to feed a million supplicants
Who pass the broth from lip to lip
And dream of drowning
They weep and pray
They hide inside their houses
They starve, stampede
Turn silent
The streets area empty now
The forest dreams
Of gentle
Pangolin