Captive Bred

While creatures pace inside enclosures,
stalking tourists make exposures
of the sights
at feeding time. The beasts can’t prowl
for prey, but feast on joints and fowl.
These chosen bites 
 
replace the chase to capture food
appeasing natural aptitude,
with this buffet.
The herds stampede to peer behind
the prison bars where life’s confined.
Without dismay,
 
they see the concrete habitats
bestowed upon these graceful cats.
Once roaming through
the wild as savage predators,
today they're chased by editors
for their debut 
 
in Wildlife Magazine, a glint
of nature’s beauty posed in print.
This masquerade
is captured by elitist vultures
for a glimpse beyond their culture’s
barricade.

Eira Needham

If you have any thoughts about this poem,  Eira Needham would be pleased to hear them