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Reptile House
It was clean, he was clean
He progressed and made his way
All of it stalled, heavy on his knees
But he achieved and he achieved
The statements rolled, accounts foiled
It was he and it was she
Mismatched made, made to believe
That they were only made to be
Assume the worst and hope for new
The two saw the worst all the way through
Journeys on cover of magazine squared
Compromise and analyze two of each pair
But things they started shifting
The comfort levels fade
Of raw hide and of tanned skin
All became demanding
Nobody was sure of it
Confidence for the weak
The bleakest sky was open wide
And the eventual came to be
Now the pair divides by two
Shot their separate way
The guilty hearts and littered minds
All scuttled by their aches
The softer presence is all unknown
Some miles off the shore
But the drifter side has fallen stray
Unlike he has before
Among the snakes and chameleon stride
The tongues all twisting round
Loosely settled into the crowd
Waiting for his scales to show
Looking for a savvy touch
And anywhere will do
He's moving from place to place
With nothing left to lose
All that stands from here to there
Is a memory or two
The smoke and guzzle will turn them back
And send them off for you
Lost and loaded to the reptile house
Shedding skin and eating flies
He lives off water from the drains
As his presence says goodbye.
