The Animals

The Animals

The horse nibbled my hair,

I froze.

Do I scream,

do I panic?

He seems satisfied.

The goat jumped on the fence,

the chickens scattered,

one tried to fly.

I watched, fascinated.

The heron stared,

probably judging

my life choices.

The wind smelled like hay

and chaos,

my shoes sticking to mud.

I laughed,

the absurdity of it all

was delicious.

Then the horse sneezed,

I jumped,

he neighed like apology

or victory,

I do not know.

The goat bleated encouragement,

the chickens clucked

philosophical truths

I could not decode.

And I thought,

this is what animals are for,

to remind humans

that control is an illusion,

that laughter is essential,

that mud is more glorious

than all the carpets we clean.

And somehow,

somehow,

this mess,

this zoo,

is perfect.