Natural Instincts

Something I wrote back when Katrina drowned my beloved City of New Orleans.

She was regal and proud  beautiful and self assured. She lived in a man- made jungle. The space was small for her but she had adapted  though she got nervous when the crowd gathered in front of her man- made jungle.

Her mind remembered a place of long ago. Wide open spaces, tall trees,  the Savannah grass tall, wild and free. She was fed well but something was missing and she never felt satisfied . Once she had garnered her own food, it was this feeling she missed, chasing her own food, the thrill of the hunt that was inbred within her.Her thoughts were interrupted by natural instinct. Her nostrils flared as she picked up that scent yet again. For days she had felt uneasy. She sensed something coming . She felt it . Her ears perked and the hair on her back stood straight . Something was going to happen. Her instincts told her so.

 She felt the earth shift and her ears pricked once again as her nostrils flared wide. She could hear a humming from the South  and she felt ill at ease. She paced back and forth as the wind began to howl and the rain began to fall in torrents . She got into her covered space and set down, only to get up again . She roared a roar of sadness, she longed to be out of this man-made jungle and back in the tall Savannah grass she remembered.

 As the rain poured down her uneasiness grew so large she could not contain it . She crashed into the steel gates, clawed at it , but she could not break free. The sound of silence stunned her and she roared  defiantly but to no avail. She was trapped in a cage there was no escape. The wind blew her huge body against the cage the rain soaked her yellow - brown hair. The water was rising,  she was so afraid  as  she hated water, she was deathly afraid of it . She flailed around in it roaring. As the water deepened her roars grew silent . The water was up to her neck now and she was nothing but nerves and so afraid her heart was bursting from her mighty chest. As she drew her last breath before the water submerged her in its murky mire  she saw the tall Savannah grass blowing and she began to run free and proud. She was home .

Author's Note

This is not that good.. but it came from my heart as I worried about the animals as well as the people in New Orleans.. thankfully the zoo was spared.

Reviews

[Desert Dreamer]

This was really good and brought tears to my eyes at the ending. While I was reading the beginning, I thought you were referring to a person, and can relate to these wild thoughts since I share many of them. I feel sad to see the animals in a zoo in fact I have a hard time going to places with caged animals. This poem reminded me of how much we have caged ourselves in our "man-made" cities.

[Rossen]

The fact that you care shines through,descriptions like this

She felt the earth shift and her ears pricked once again as her nostrils flared wide. She could hear a humming from the South and she felt ill at ease. She paced back and forth as the wind began to howl and the rain began to fall in torrents . She got into her covered space and set down, only to get up again . She roared a roar of sadness, she longed to be out of this man-made jungle and back in the tall Savannah grass she remembered.

You are a fabulous story teller, and this is mesmerizing!

[Tony]

Actually, this was very good.
I hate cages.

[Pillow Of Winds]

Very dramatic nd loved the way you were actually describing a lion in a zoo, it seemed so realistic nd frankly th ending was just heartbreaking, i've always felt so sad for animals in perilous situations :( such a heartfelt story and written very evocativally, short and simply great

[Truly Ross-Wisehart]

Oh, Chloe. This brought a tear to my eye. So heartfelt. Beautifully written.

~True xo

[Kat Plunkett]

really good, you can tell it was heartfelt and that is all that really matters. :)

[The Rock And Roll Cowbo..]

Love should make you feel free to be you and never suffocate... it should take your breath away but not in that manner... a creatively analytical look at someone using love to control the other.

[Chloe..Across the Unive..]

bet some saw the title and thought it was about sex~!
Jibey, people tell me I am melodramatic .. I just get carried away sometimes .. the ending is a little ...melodramatic! lol you are right!

[Jibey]

The pulsing heart of the beast and its longing for its natural habitat was well conveyed... even if the end was a little melodramatic!

[Coyote Poetry]

I like the story. Animals are more wise then we believe. They can sense bad things coming and can survive tin any surrounding. A very good story. Brought the story to life with your words. A excellent story.
Coyote