I watch the lions prance

in their enclosure, a rolling patch

of grass and rock

meant to imitate the savannah.

 

They sense the crowd: a sign

of feeding time. A zookeeper arrives

 

and opens the door

to the cage. With a blunt stick

and a few gestures, he gets the lioness

to lift her paws,

 

roll over, each time rewarding her

with a chunk of meat.

 

Here we minimize their contact

with humans so they’ll remain wild. But

we also have to coax

certain behaviors from them.

 

But I don’t see wild creatures, only

animals trained to perform

tricks for our cameras.
 

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