Change

I’ve always been fascinated with the way people deal with change. By and large, they don’t like it. Drastic change is especially difficult. But a quiet erosion of what once was, actually might not even register. The Cincinnati Zoo has slowly morphed into a modern facility using the latest science to promote species and environmental protection while still looking a lot like the place I went as a kid. Here’s a poem about fooling ourselves about changes that are taking place around us.

Just as I left It

I walked for a while
Before I found my way
Back to the llamas

It had been years
Since I’d been to the zoo
Both me and the zoo
Had grown and changed

Life moves faster and flashier
The zoo had become more sophisticated
Promoting animal preservation
While holding my memories close

The llama enclosure
Slightly off the main path
Down steps built in the 1930 by the WPA
Appears untouched

On a dirt patch
Next to the camel
Stands the llama
Serenely chewing