Menagerie Poem by Lawrence S. Pertillar

A menagerie.
This place called Earth.
God has created.
Not yet discovered to find,
Anywhere else.
In this massive unending universe.
Duplicated.
Although claimed to be,
The one and only menagerie...
Human eyes with telescopes can see.

And we,
You and I, them and they.
Seem with wishes seek to betray,
With senseless reasons...
To instigate and initiate,
Battlefields of bigotry, hatred...
With touches of tasteless pointless division.
To inflict upon ourselves.

Yet...
Throughout all of nature,
This activity seems to exist.
Creatures hunting to prey,
Persistently to seek the weak.
Devouring their way of life.
To proclaim themselves victorious.
While feeding to feast.

And we,
You and I, them and they.
Intelligent with a consciousness.
Delusionally portrayed.
Are not that different.
From wild jungle beasts.

Although it can be said,
With innocence in full display.
Domestically,
We have been trained to inflict...
Suffering, pain and anguish upon others.
But with a difference.
We have the capability,
To explain and excuse our misdeeds away.
Done to do this proudly,
On a daily basis.

"Can you forgive,
Everything to you I have done? "

-Sure. Why not?
As long as you do that for me,
Next month.-

"Hmmm.
That depends."

-On what? -

"My mood.
The alignment of the planets.
The phase of the Moon.
And if I'm feeling it."