I went to the zoo once
It was a Tuesday, in September
Not too cold not to hot
An ideal day.
I wanted to see an elephant,
A giraffe
A rhinoceros
Its hide the thickest you will see.
The man at the gate said welcome
I took my ticket
Made my way to the monkey cage.
An ape looked seriously bored
Looked at me probably
Thought, man you look bored.
An Oranatang looked up from chewing
A pile of bamboo:
Casually dismissed me
Chewed some more.
The elephants stood still
Rocking from side to side
Their stress evident
I felt sorry such noble creatures
Should be so confined.
Then to my delight the rhinos
Magnificent grass eaters
Their leathery skins, inches thick
Grazed oblivious to me.
I felt insignificant.
I was insignificant the day the men came
Herded us into a corner
Roped mother
Shot father
Corralled me
Penned me
The lights went out.
I dreamed I was on the prairie
Grass knee deep
Family all round
We butted each other
Happy to be who we were.
Jolted awake
Concrete floor
Shouts incomprehensible
Nothing familiar
Just me
Terrified
Scared
Mother?
I went to the zoo once
It was a Wednesday in September
I found animals
Cages
Confined
Deprived of context
Enduring
Pacing
Fearful.
I felt depressed
Their future misery.
The pointless pointing
Bereft of understanding.
I wondered the reason
Just as entertainment?
Education?
Enlightenment?
The marmoset monkeys
In the safest of environments
Still anticipated attack
Living on edge
Forever vigilant.
I went to the zoo once
It was a Thursday in September
I thought
I can never again return
Each beast lives in a place far from here
Hughes read the Jaguar so well*
Yet we incarcerate them
Boast of our achievements
Man the thinking mammal.
So who are we kidding?
Written for: http://mindlovemiserysmenagerie.wordpress.com/2014/12/14/the-zoo-writing-prompt-december-14th-2014/
In writing this poem I couldn’t help but remember these lines from Ted Hughes’ ‘The Jaguar’
* At a cage where the crowd stands, stares, mesmerized,
As a child at a dream, at a jaguar hurrying enraged
Through prison darkness after the drills of his eyes
On a short fierce fuse. Not in boredom—
The eye satisfied to be blind in fire,
By the bang of blood in the brain deaf the ear—
He spins from the bars, but there’s no cage to him
More than to the visionary his cell:
His stride is wildernesses of freedom:
The world rolls under the long thrust of his heel.
Over the cage floor the horizons come.
Morpethroad 
Being held against our will, animals or human alike, a sorry state of affairs and so unnecessary. Watching animals pace in cages, zoo, circus or on show for tourists, not the way an animal should be treated or live.
Yes Jenny this is so true. Thanks so much for that comment.
Welcome.
I agree with Jenny very powerful writing. The part about the elephants struck me especially. For some reason humans don’t think of other animals as sentient but I believe they are capable of much greater feeling and understanding than we give them, I absolutely believe they have souls. Whenever one of my animal companions has died they come to me in a dreams to say goodbye. I remember how afraid my dog Eli was to pass on because he was such a devoted protector and had such a strong bond to my mom. They always come before the die. I was away at college, right after my dream my mom called to tell me Eli had died. Though before she broke the news I told her I already knew because he came by to tell me.
Thanks Yves, I think you are right about that, I’d believe that they do come to you in death.
I dislike zoos, no matter how ‘advanced’. It’s unnatural for our animals to live in one. Your words were powerful in this Michael.
Thank you Jackie, appreciate you dropping by on this Monday morning.
Strong and powerful words. It is sad that animals meant to roam free are confined. Not only in zoos but in natural parks.
Thanks so much Kim we have much to do to care better for our animals.
I haven’t been to the zoo for forty years. I hate seeing the elephants swaying back and forth like they do in captivity.
Yes it is never pleasant though in recent times a lot has been done in zoos to alleviate the stress levels of the animals.