The cow embodies an investment in wealth:
you can’t get the milk for free.
A horse represents the trajectory of
careers: get bucked off, get back on,
steady yourself and ride it out.
The lamb of love possesses purely natural
flaws: teeth bite, legs flee, voice screams raw.
Then the monkey is the baby figure, for it
will outgrow youth quickly: adolescence
turns to abandonment.
And the lion embodies
pride, but with its
absence comes loss of
assurance:
the self given
up first.
The dragon is the oldest and wisest of them
all, knowing when to conserve strength
and when to display raw dominance
over the realm. The divot of each
smooth scale holds as many
scars as stories.
A phoenix rises from the ashes, fueled
by pure resilience. Natural fire contains
embers which persist deep within.
Wings of flame a beacon through the
skies.
The unicorn radiates supernatural
power effortlessly in a glow. Beauty is
subconscious, purity the rarest of powers.
Then the jackalope is ground down to the
fibers of DNA. A masterful balance of
physicality is maintained with frail
ferocity and miniscule mightiness.
Faith grips the seams of them all
together. Without devotion to a
belief in what can never be proven,
the aura of magic fades into oblivion.
Admired with wonder in passing, yet
jaded with doubt into obscurity.▲
