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.