A Visit To The Zoo (Poetry)

Caged — behind bars — when he should be wild and free
this ape with dark brooding eyes stares out at me
resentful of my kind. The air between hums thick
with thoughts that wrestle blind — jump high and quick

I accept he has no language I can learn
but his look’s so fierce I feel the meaning burn
for it’s more than anger born from hate and fear
it makes me tremble — question why I’m here

Who was it captured you — condemned you — stole your life
cut all connections with their callous knife?
Since when you’re hunched here in this cold cage alone
homesick for those jungle regions you once roamed ...

I gaze long into those eyes and what I see
reflects my pain — truth is I’m just as trapped as he