Zoo #41 – Prey

A sideways look at age, Colin McQueen - writer, Getting Older, Humour, My Life, Poetry, Real life through the kaleidoscope of age 1 Minute

Who’d want to be a chick or mouse
Within the darkened reptile house
Where neither rat, nor slug, nor louse
Is born with greater cause to grouse.

Yes, cows and sheep share common fate
But here’s the truth I must relate
That neither beast, when comes the date,
Goes live onto the dinner plate.

There is nothing in this world quite as disturbing as seeing chicks hopping around the terrariums in the reptile house, blithely unaware (I hope) that they are there just for one reason, to be eaten.  They are alive only because the snakes will not take dead prey: they need to see it move.  Keep still little chicken: don’t twitch little mouse!  Sooner or later the snake will sleep.  The best thing about going live to the dinner plate is that you might yet have the chance to hop off it.

Published by colinmcqueen

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11 thoughts on “Zoo #41 – Prey”

  1. I kind of have a love/hate thing for reptiles. More of a take ’em or leave ’em attitude. Our local zoo doesn’t feed them while the public is present.

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  6. I think the problem here might be ‘the zoo’.
    If WE put animals of any sort in captivity for our amusement, we all should have to face the realities of doing so displayed to us too.
    Put antelopes in the lions enclosure too!

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