ANIMAL
I AM NOT AN ANIMAL
After a 4,500 kl road trip 3 elephants
arrived at a California sanctuary Bob Barker
(The Price Is Right) was elated He’d
spent a small fortune and several years of
his life lobbying for this
Mr. Berridge (T.O. Zoo) said: We’re all emotionally
drained when you work with elephants they get
inside your soul Fair enough Bob & Mr. Berridge
I find the same to be true in work with human children
Over the past 5 yrs. in T.O. funding for children’s mental
health has been radically cut 12 sessions is all they get
Be careful about asking for more Therapists We do not
want to encourage a dependency
dark circles crack house graduates lakeshore motels without
the meal plan burns bruises being peed on at 18 months in
cold showers angsty & powerless self-anesthetized zombies
I will lobby for a transport truck Surely the PAWS Sanctuary
has room? It will likely be cheaper to haul 30 child survivors
than 3 aging elephants The children are rail-thin don’t use
toilets and can dissociate into long periods of trance No costly
staff with degrees in Zoology needed
The pachyderms now resting comfortably will die in captivity
but the children may someday break free Their voices trumpeting
long into the California night
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Winter 2013
songanddancegirl 