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Unpolished Ink Aug 2023
A drop of rain
parts the fur of a captive tiger
it reminds him of the jungle that he has never seen
but there is a poster he can look at
vaguely he plans a holiday
two weeks in the sun
then he heads indoors to his food bowl
and watches the downpour
through the window
the heat is unbearable
but not like the cold,
without the chance to
gather my bed
for a long slumber

this meal tastes like
ice and poison,
why would they
eat this junk?
then again
maybe they don’t

just a little higher,
i can totally reach
the brim
where the small heads
look on with glee

i wouldn’t hurt anyone,
and i forgive all the
voyeurs
for sacrificing their
time to watch me
survive

i just want to
go home

parallels?

#AbolishZoos #AbolishPrisons #AntiZoo #AntiPrison
Cait Nov 2020
“Show Time!” I hear as they start to get everything ready for the two-legged beings.

I want to hide, not to be seen. Though I know that’s impossible.

I am locked in a cage for everyone to see.

My black fur and spots.

My brilliant golden eyes.

My long whiskers.

My paws and my claws.

All on display.

I start to hear the pitter-patter of footsteps walking towards me.

I stay close to the back wall hoping to blend in with the dark surroundings of my own personal prison.

If I hide my face, they won’t be able to tell where I am.

I hear them hitting the metal bars with sticks.

My ears flatten against my head.

Let me go please, leave me alone.

I don’t want to be seen.

Suddenly I hear it, one of them screams “I found it!”

My black fur raises on my back, sending chills down my spine.

They found me, why can’t they see that I don’t want to be found.

“Look at his spots!”

“Look at his fur!”

Why can’t they stop screaming?

I start to pace, I want it to stop, please stop.

I want to go home; I want to be free.

Why can’t you see what you’re doing to me?
This poem like most was something I wrote for a school assignment/writing prompt focused on a specific animal and emotion. Can you guess it?
Lily Sep 2020
Silent and so calm
Heads peeking through leaves and trees
Bright eyes stare, yearning
inspired by a trip to the zoo
Hunter was happy
The rain was now done
He could go out in the yard
And have some real fun

Staying inside
when there was so much to do
He had to go hunting
For his alphabet zoo

Hunter like letters
And numbers and things
He also likes dreaming
and the joy that it brings

He pulled out his toy box
And he dragged it outside
I'm going to go hunting
He put his hat on with pride

An old hunting helmet
And one wellington boot
A runner, his jacket
And a toy gun to shoot

I'm off to go hunting
I'll will fill a whole zoo
Just call me for dinner
And with that...he was through

A boy's mind is special
They can imagine the world
Is a magical jungle
That to them is unfurled

A zoo from a toy box
All in order....you'll see
He would fill up his zoo
From A back to Z

First came an aardvark
Then a ******, all stuffed
Then a cheetah, a donkey
All cuddly and puffed

E made him think
Yep...an earwig or two
It fit with the letters
And it would go in his zoo

F was a frog,
Made of rubber and green
G ...a gorilla
With a smile, not mean

H was a horse
with a cowboy as well
The zoo, it was growing
And to him, that was swell

I....had him thinking
It's my zoo after all
So, if I can't get a letter
It won't matter at all

J was a jacks game
Not an animal too
But, the jacks looked like spiders
And this was Hunters zoo

K...that was easy
A Kangaroo with a pouch
L was a llama
With three legs and a slouch

M was a monkey
A whole barrel he had
He played with these some
He wasn't doing half bad

In all of an hour
He had collected a herd
Of stuffed toys, ***** and jacks
And he still had no bird

N was a nerf ball
Or a dinosaur egg
It could be what he wanted
He'd now found that fourth leg

The llama assembled
O was easy for him
An octopus floaty
That taught him to swim

P was a parrot
With feathers all red
Q...that's a tough one
He thought to himself in his head

R was a rhino
With no horn, it was broke
S was a snake
His dad bought as a joke

T was a tough one
A terra-dac-til said he
Not knowing the spelling
And that it started with P

U ...under water
so he found a stuffed fish
This was not all that easy
V...well tosh tish

I'll catch two of another
If I can't think of one
Hunting out in the yard
Is really quite fun

W...a walrus
with a moustache and tusks
Like the gorilla before
made of coconut husks

X...was a tough one
Another dinosaur came
Made from his xylophone
And this dino was tame

Y was a yak
He didn't know what it was
But, he just liked the name
So, a yak ....just because

Z was a zebra
blue and black with no white
He'd colored it in with a marker
When he got bored one night

He'd been out for a while
When he heard his mum yell
Time to come in
Bring your toy box as well

All through his dinner
He told of what he had caught
Of the alphabetic adventures
And the creatures he'd got

He watched tv for a while
Then it was bath time and bed
Where Hunter the hunter
Now had a full head

Now, he was dreaming
Of all he must do
This was Hunter the hunter
And his alphabet zoo
alexa Jul 2020
i never felt the need to say it
but it’s time to bid aideu.

you made me feel things
almost as if you unleashed a zoo

i miss you sometimes
but then i remember what you turned into

you treat me
as if i’m a shoe

you wear me out until you can’t anymore
but you can’t return me to the store

as much as you try,
i’ll never be who i was before.

with this,
i say goodbye and thank you

i hope one day
you stop acting how you do
i’ll miss you. ring me when you’re ready.
Why does the tips of my crown
Resemble the bars of this cage
With those outsiders who come
To view me outside of my reign

My fierce and untamed nature
Does not fit with the oppressed
A queen outside of her kingdom
Still does not make her powerless

My roars cannot break the glass
It's echos drive wild and restless
All I can do now is sit and pace
With all this power without an outlet

My sharp claws are nature's daggers
Not enough for this man made surface
I am fed with no need to hunt
I am no longer the primal huntress

I am separated from my kind
With no use for my defences
I learned to live for only those
Who desire my entertainment

Soon my freedom will come
My escape is simply inevitable
I lie in wait as I gather my strength
This cage doesn't define my potential
Thomas James Tom Mar 2020
Llama Love

Well I  met her down in Oklahoma when I was just eighteen.
She really had it going on if you know what I mean.

She's my sweet little thing,
She's my sugar mama,
Hot dam! Why did I have to go and fall in love with a llama.

Well you know It  felt so very wrong,
But she looked so very right.
I whispered  in her ear,
"Do you wanna come over here  tonight?"
She let out a neigh or whatever llamas say

Hot dam! little mama, I'm in love with a llama

Oh, now I'm banned from the zoo,
What will I do? Hotter than a sauna I love this llama.
Now I'm stuck in jail
I can't make bail.
Hot dam little mama
I'm in jail for stealing this llama.

By:Thomas James Tom
7/8/2019
Edited and revised 1/8/2020 by a very ****** man.
Georgie Feb 2020
My Grandma used to be my biggest fan
She used to take me to the park, buy me ice cream
Push me on the swings till I couldn't see the trees

She used to take me to the zoo, point at the animals
Buy me cuddly souvenirs of each of them in the gift shop

She used to take me to the supermarket
Push me in the trolley and buy me a cream cake at the end

My Grandma was the one who told me to write stories
She used to make me cheesy pasta and we'd read together
Stories about dinosaurs and princesses and little girls with coloured hair

That was before she grew old

Now my Grandma sits in her chair
Her skin as thin as paper
Withered bones from old age

My Grandma doesn't really remember my name anymore
Doesn't really know what I look like
Can't really hear what I say

She's not really interested in my life anymore
Only in soaps on telly and other people's lives

My Grandma used to be my biggest fan
Now she doesn't really know who I am
Growing old is hard
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