Recently, a friend took me to a guy, she said,
could read what my animal had in store for me,
A big book lay open on the table,
At a glance, twelve animals I could see.

He got my year of birth from my card
You are a snake, he announced triumphantly,
Thinking of slimy, cold creatures,
I looked at him apprehensively.

“Snakes are wise, philosophical, clever.”
Straightening my back, I looked around proudly,
Reading, he continued, “They are tall and slim too,”
Then he looked up at me and smiled sheepishly.

“Oh, I forget, you are an earth snake,”
In doubt, I looked at him suspiciously,
“You have a love for earthly pleasures.
Very earthly.” He laughed. “Very sorry.”

How did I plunge from that high to this low?
I looked at my friend desperately,
Holding her card right before his eyes,
She stopped him short, to read her history.

“Like a bull, you’re loyal. Hardworking. Clever.
On the other hand, you behave mulishly,
You won’t listen to others. Stubborn
Sometimes, too, you act stupidly.”

Opening the page with the dragon, she said,
“I lied to you. I was born in the year of 1940.
I am a dragon, brave and strong.
I am the best animal in the zodiac astrology.”

Looking through the pages I saw
each animal having positive and negative chi,
I laughed hilariously when I realised
that I had a little of each animal in me.