Wild Animals Poem by Jim Yerman

One of the joys of our daily walks is passing the same things every day.
It makes the walk more intimate knowing what to expect along the way.

You stop being an observer when you walk the same paths repeatedly
As you find yourself a participant in everything you see.

Not only are you observing the trees, the animals and the rest of nature too
But you can feel in your soul that they are watching you.

You realize that everything in life has so much to offer, so much to give
And you begin to feel a sense of ownership and pride in where you live.

You feel contentment with the ordinary...in the everydayness of the scene
And discomfort when something happens to disturb your set routine.

The other day our normal pattern was upset, which got us both a little down
As we approached a favorite sculpture in the center of our town

It’s a bronze sculpture of a conductor checking his watch and showing a little disdain
While a mother and daughter run hand in hand as they try to catch the train.

They are clad in clothes from olden days which adds to the sculpture’s charm
Why then, one wonders, would anyone want to do this sculpture harm?

Overnight it was vandalized...how can people be so mean?
The vandals took that beautiful sculpture and made each piece obscene.

Deborah and I quickly returned the sculpture’s dignity....but I would be remiss
If I didn’t ask...why would anyone treat anything like this?

What is wrong with a person or persons who generate such mayhem?
Who attempt to damage something that never damaged them?

We like to compare ourselves to the animal world, we see them and look askance...
They are animals, they are wild, we are humans and more advanced.

But if you look for this type of behavior in the animal kingdom, not only is it rare...
Search the whole world over...you won’t find it anywhere.

Animals don’t vandalize each other, birds don’t graffiti each other’s nests
Fish don’t draw obscenities on other fish, trees don’t give each other breasts.

No, this is a human characteristic...and as you look at the evidence I’ve compiled.
Please refresh my memory...which one if us is wild?