At The Zoo Poem by Morgan Michaels

From the top of the page
scrolling down
like a fern unfurling
or a moth's tongue,

in velvety supervention:
the limitless neck of the giraffe-
wobbly lozenges henna her jaw,
her martian horntips bristle.

her banana-leaf mane
doubly sprung,
coasting a
league or furthermore;

and her snout,
sensible and hensile
like an elephant's,
bobbed to a crew;

and those lashes!
the longest ever
seen on beast or bird-
beaded, mascaraed,
fringing eyes
shining, immense,

staring guileless
like an animal saint's,
but lacking a saint's faith
in gullibility.

Nothing at all
slips from her rubbery lips
pink and lascivious, her tongue is dumb
like a plum slice
short but a thumb

Reaches down, down,
down to the highest branch-
wraps it around
my heart's own pod-
snatches, tugs hard,
yanks it free-

The branches snap back

- chews it up, slowly, slowly
and swallows.