of Mice & Pens

the zookeepers in the world worried…

every one of them.

>all 10<

millions of animals

caged for their own safety

while not yet escaped

) not yet )

now comingled in a massive, completely unintended living area.

an area which fell through most bureaucratic gaps.

(even those from the 1800’s)

the circus people worried for these same reasons,

as did hatcheries, as did animal husbands……

& rallying their ranks, the suits swelled,

firing fat, outlawed Cubans

that puffed clouded conjecture into a semblance of legitimacy

like those balloons that appear overhead in comic strips,

as the light bulb that also appears in balloons in comic strips was nowhere nearby

was being retrofitted, in fact, so those stupid zoo animals could see why their steaks were so high—not say—because of the zookeepers’ stake in global, zoo security systems…

Rallying, the suits created laws for grandpa, even though grandpa had kicked the bucket, but

fuck it! The animals were fiercely engaged in detaching, and grandpa had been a fan…

and so they tempted species with particular treats, “species whisperers” for every beast, warning the rest of uncaged Noah’s Ark their brethren gained on them even as they walked and breathed,

would rip them asunder, thereby enticing each animal to the fence,

–not yet within.

and sure there was some infighting, sure there was, but what the zookeepers really feared was a united diaspora

a herd exchanging belly rubs & aches, and picking nits foreign & familiar

Such a heard would realize they far outnumbered the zookeepers and circuses of the world, and if they chose to live free

an elephant

might trample those bars & pens

(cages they paid for! prisons they built!)

— a mouse might.

2¢ by Karen Robiscoe