They gaze through gilded glass, where you perch proud,

A small shadow of what you should have been.

They say animals can’t show emotion,

 But I see sadness tinted with despair,

 And void of all hope and dreams, your nightmare.

Blank faces stare in at your too small cage,

Enclosure that you refuse to call home.

They call loudly, shouting, pointing, screaming,

Their voices seem strangely loud through thick glass,

Refuse their summons and turn your white head,

For they eat ignorance that kills all life.

Move with no purpose through too warm water,

You wish vainly for ice and crunch of snow,

Clamber to the other side out of sight,

Stare at the walls of your mock up prison,

Painted chilled concrete that makes you shiver.

Paw out frustration and listen as they

Yell out demands and praise to your turned back,

Listen as they linger then disappear,

Pray for freedom and the proud Ice Mountains

 Like tales of old your mother once told you.

Tear at the fish with half-hearted hunger,

No thrill of the chase or fear from prey, who

Stare with glass eyes that speak of acceptance,

Should you accept this and give up dreaming?

Dreams of ice, and the crash of violent waves,

The master of ice with an endless view,

The furthest you see now is ten square metres,

With captors that stare and keep on walking.

They can’t get lonely, they don’t feel, they said.

You feel the weight of your dreams and your hopes,

And freedom which circles daily, endless

Like the tides of the ocean you once knew

They press on you choking out your long life,

It’s a constant thing in an endless dream.

Turn back, stare at them and gaze with crisp eyes,

Curl in on yourself, refuse their demands,

Succumb to your thoughts and let sleep take you,

For it is the only freedom you have.