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"The Messenger" Love is rich with venom and honey. there was a female ... snake, it watched with green-eyed avarice, covetting a dove’s nest the dove, was white as snow, not young, getting on, tiny flecks of grey the dove alone, kept guard in a transitional nest over her precious one, who slumbered in a speckled egg unlike Snow White, the dove had little to no sleep at all, the dove kept vigil over the one she had not yet met - but felt, knew and loved night and day day and night never did the dove stray sleeping with one eye open this was the dove’s quiet spot the nest, her transient home for only a short while, was not that safe from predatory creatures of the forest, but high enough, she thought unlike some doves one chick only, yet to hatch, it was her last shot, to produce a little one the snake envied this, a lot, slithering around without a child of her own to hug the snake had missed her one shot, this was her last shot so the snake waited the snake waited patiently for the dove to sleep, so the snake, well, she hung around and waited quite a lot the worm hid in its rotten apple it watched on, cajoling the snake to do its bidding now the snake that great pretender spoke in silky friendly tones to the dove of trust and better days “it must be tiring keeping watch, and guard over a love as strong, as close as this”, the snake parlayed, beady eyes all the while on the unhatched egg, it hissed, it smiled the acquiescing docile dove listened rapturously to the reptile, thinking, "this snake, is not so bad afterall, a most wise, friendly and caring creature indeed", the dove didn’t hear the snake’s hiss, at all the dove valued the snake’s advice and for once, not alone and able to sleep the dove indeed felt safe and far from strife the dove failed to see how the reptile spoke as respectful friend all the while delivering betrayal in its camouflaged skin poison sitting on razor fangs dripping lies behind its forked tongue to the trusting dove the snake had invisible fangs it was like an angel sent to watch over the two doves with love to now have a guardian such as the snake, the dove thought her little one and herself, surely would be safe to watch over her precious egg and her exhausted self how wonderful this to close her eyes and sleep the dove, most grateful, let the snake sidle up to her and her precious one, she let the venomous usurper slide right on in; eventually the dove’s egg hatched the broken shell shattered, spilt out of the nest like lost teeth onto hard-earthed ground the baby chick not in the nest, was now nowhere to be found the dove, terrified and heartbroken sang out in peeling torturous screams, no creature listened, no creature came to assist, her lonely song of betrayal was sung to deaf ears unhelpful ignoring hopelessness in the underworld the snake had the most malleable precious one in its den the snowy owl silent watcher in the forest, witnessing this, took pity on the hopeless broken dove the owl granted the gift of shapeshifting to the too kind-hearted trusting dove after shaking some sense and wisdom back into the dove the owl instructed her in the ways of transfiguring the broken parts of herself back together through shapeshifting a meaningful way to escape as above so below, to retrieve her true purpose to secure her true power; and to find her missing child for by now the snake was indeed in its full power, slithering around in its cloistered underworld first the dove drew strength from her mistake she became a fearsome death adder to locate her stolen child she would slither in the dark shadows in the underworld, as one with other snakes to learn from the dark their lessons, their tricks their vile art, the way their venomous, cold hearts beat how they thought, how they lied how they lived then, eaten up by sorrow, fear and poison, she slid fast out of that wretched skin she transformed herself into a fearless calculating Mongoose with hirsute and sharp clawed revolutionary opinions she watched with the fiercest type of love her stolen child most avidly from afar she established when the time was ripe to retrieve her hypnotised offspring, keenly and cunningly she strategised night and day, day and night even in her sleep she strategised eventually, all in good time without a sound she’d take her mark, she’d strike in a subliminal way without mercy most deadly, most profound justice would be found not a drop of blood from the slaughtered forked tongue to be wasted no sign of its existence left remaining in this world left standing on the ground obliterated, dead, extinguished never again the serpent or its ilk to be found the child now no longer recognised its mother ... and enamoured in the way the snake manipulated and beguiled, the stolen child frightened, flew away from the mongoose-once-was-mother to find the snake’s advisor the contemptible cajoling worm unseen in its rotten apple a rat holed up in its dung burrow called out to the child, “I am the one you are seeking child, come quick, come hither! You are not safe with a fierce Mongoose mother.” worms in this world are shapeshifters too when they want to flee from the truth they take many forms the Mongoose once Dove recollected these words, "a mother's love for its child is like nothing else in this world, it knows no law, no pity it dares all things, and crushes down remorselessly all that stands in its path" then, the Mongoose again transformed into the most sage and courageous one of all a fierce long dark night hunter The Forest’s silent sovereign, the watcher, the most noble the most able, the most strongest shapeshifter over all the wise and fearless Great White Snowy Owl. ...if the winds fail you use the oars. (Ladylabyrinth/ 2023)
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