DOING TIME AT THE ZOO

DOING TIME AT THE ZOO

The moose next door
acrylic paint on canvas by Robert Margetts

I sit in my cage

and eat raw flesh from metallic bowls

twice a day

I return to the open holes

You pass the meat

and expect me to be happy

caged in an iron coffin

yet convicted of no crime

You pass my cage

as I do the time

He throws me a peanut

She tosses me a candy bar

It waves and taunts me

shouts and vents

disrespects  my existence

and expects me to be content

We are the ones who watch you go by

We are the ones who wait to die

We are the ones who hate you so

We are the ones who truly know

that you are the beast

trapped in your own mortality

begging forgiveness from some soiled priest

They come in droves

They drive their cars

They walk by our cages

throw morsels of genetically altered food

and throw our minds into horrific rages

Who is the animal

that traps my kind

Slaves to your world

 filled with hate

filled with utter fear

passing my prison but shedding not a  tear

to walk the corridors of iron that rust

and show sympathy and empathy

ironic gestures of trust

You enlightened creature

who fear my kind instinct

It is you who have been fleeced

It is you who are the beast.