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Harambe, living in captivity-
mock forest of the Cincinnati Zoo,
within our human world, well as can be,
beneath those peering eyes, that visit you.
And what bad fate for you when suddenly,
no fault of yours, a child falls in your space.
At first, you seemed to act quite caringly;
you held his hand and looked into his face.
But then the shrieks of humans made you wild
and frantic, as you soon became afraid.
You dragged him to and fro, that little child-
and chaos then ensued, decisions made.
If only they had found a simple way;
removed the crowd to hush upsetting screams,
perhaps your primate nature would then play
into a more protective stance, it seems.
Or maybe darted you to bring you down
and not forever, just a little while,
to rescue the small boy and take the crown
for saving both and ending with a smile.
Harambe, poor gorilla, your sad day,
to have them end your life for their neglect
of building an enclosure that some way
allowed a tiny child to fall direct.
Within your borrowed space of humankind,
where you knew not of freedom, nature's way,
you had to face your end, your days maligned
as a dark beast to pay the price that day.
Harambe, living in captivity,
mock forest of the Cincinnati Zoo,
not many of you left on Earth to see;
so sorry that this fate has come to you.
May 31, 2016
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Harambe, the Gorilla: A three-year-old boy, with no one watching, was able to enter a Cincinnati Zoo gorilla's enclosure on May 28, 2016. After a 10-minute encounter, Cincinnati Zoo officials shot and killed the beloved 17-year old male western lowland silverback gorilla. At first, the gorilla, named Harambe, seemed like he was trying to help the boy, be more of a gentle giant, and protecting the child. But the screams and commotion of the crowd frightened him and he started dragging the little boy away from the sound of the crowd. There has been a lot of anger over the quick decision to kill him.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Killing_of_Harambe
Copyright © Sandra Haight | Year Posted 2016
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