metro: 15-2

Wisdom is passed down
by the stinking breath of the elder

and reflected off the darting black pin-point eyes
of the sleeker animal

who only tolerates his age-stained captor
for as long as the rancid mentorship proves beneficial.

A young girl, who has pulled out her eyebrows
in a fit of anxiety, pinches her small, fat fists

and puts up her dukes.