Best Socialanimal Poems
Note: Following a rash of local breakins, thieves murdered two people who happened to be
at home when they entered. This event produced a lot of anxiety for me and James was
kind enough to help divert my attention by joining in this write. Many thanks to James, Tim
and Dane Ann for their support during this difficult time. -- Carolyn
A hungry gray feline sees a mouse; quickly does she pounce
Instincts come into play as jungle creatures eye their prey
Natural selection rules the vast animal kingdom
By striking fast they earn the right to live another day
We read in the papers and we watch on the news
As I look out my window, and ponder man's thoughts
What do we see, through our eyes as we view
Our ability to kill and leave one's life nought
Complicated survival games play out each strenuous day
From the frigid Arctic tundra to torrid dark jungles
Beasts on the prowl are trekking nature's intended path
Another victim falls as distant thunder rumbles
Opportunists linger as the perpetrators dare
Man stalking down dark alleys and dimly-lit streets
Confronted, accosted in criminal stare
Where the innocents in danger, generally meet
Other members of the animal kingdom have no choice
They slay only to keep themselves and their families alive
But it's man who plays the most dangerous of games
Killing for thrill, politics or greed; how can man survive?
It's the evil of man who takes what he wants
With the blade of a knife, with his terror taunts
His escalation from flint to gun
This most wonderful world in masculine haunt
If man continues to develop harsh weapons
The skies may explode in carnivorous fashion
Consuming not just one animal species, but all
Leaving angels to mourn the death of God's creations
Not too far removed
From penetration fully Roman
Mysterious strangers appear
In form of a red-plumed omen
Clans laughing on the run
We are thumbing our noses
At laws made for justice
And order for the masses
Force of the strongest
The only law with validation
A strange idea from Roman soldiers
Some word called obligation
Taking whatever we want
Ignoring this strange new notion
Hunting women for our pleasure
Filling them with burning violation
Unaware of opposing forces
Burning dwellings, smoke is rising
Destruction of a village
Women silenced except their crying
Then confronted by metallic horsemen
To assert law and order
Our days of pillage are ended
Shackled and bound to one another
My spirit bound and aching
Like sexual frustration
And sold to a noble woman
To fulfill her inclinations
My skin stripped bare
Her look of satisfaction
The branding iron glowing red
The coming mark of civilization
Burning flesh in my nose
I scream aloud in pain
My animal within rebels
Against chains that keep me tame
Can this be happening to me?
She notices my thought
I'll make you a gentle slave
You were wild, now you're caught
Go ahead, attempt escape
But no matter where you go
You're now marked as a common slave
Never again respected in your home
I'll tame you with kindness
Or the crack of my whip
Either way you'll learn respect
Now on my feet, put your lips
Inevitably we all follow
The path of Vercingetorix
Submitting to the Roman eagle
And hopes of a pleasure fix
The least amount of grief
Is now called salvation
And I taste the bitter sweetness
Of my ordained domination
We search for exemption
To save us from the pain
We love ignoring the reality
That we'll always be a slave
In one way or another
Chastisement is our lot
And with gratitude I bow
To a master smoking hot
Time passes by
Rules taught again and again
Then as certainly as clockwork
Society produces another gentleman
With adoring eyes on my master
My animal corralled into its cage
Thankful I now ignore that voice
That civilization took away