At The Zoo

Took my family to the zoo
Did I mention I hated zoos?
The animals in cages
the smells
People always staring at me
like I 'm the one who belongs in those cages

But my daughters had never been
And my sister highly recommended this particular one
She practically grew up in the park around it

So I sucked up my aggravation
and went to that dreaded place
But the end result was worth it all the way

Sophia's face as she looked at the penguins
(her favorite animal)
Her eyes getting round and huge
as the elephant came right up to her
Her squeals as the tigers roar
rang throughout the park.
her Smile as the red panda
seemed to look right at her

Arianna almost two
we took her to the petting zoo area
her chubby hand reached out
and petted the miniature donkey
her little face broke out into a smile
Did you know that donkey
is the oldest creature there?

I saw that zoo through my daughters eyes
and realized ok maybe it isn't hell like I thought
I relaxed and enjoyed it.
Watched my daughters dance and laugh
Clap and play through the zoo

All those animals
Flamingos
otters
seals
(my favorite was the Giraffes and camels)
wolves
lions
tigers
Bears
(No I'm not doing that silly little line)

They were all new and exotic to them
They soaked them in with love and wonder
Daddy can we have a pet tiger?
Yup that's my little girl
loving the dangerous creatures

Arianna's refusal to leave
Sophia's plead to come back someday.
Maybe we will
That place wasn't as bad as I always thought.

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(The Zoo I went to with my family was Roger Williams park zoo In Providence Rhode Island. It has a zoo on the grounds but it has a TON of other things, an area where concerts and weddings are, a baseball/softball field, a pond where swan boats are that you can paddle, a playground for kids, a museum, a jack-o-lantern spectacular that they have every October, and a shit ton of other things ( I think there is even a casino on the grounds) the zoo is one of the oldest zoo in the United States founded in 1872. it has 102-acre and I think there is more acres now. But that 102 is what it started out with.
Figured I'd give you people a history lesson. though if you want to know more..

https://rwpzoo.org/103/history-roger-williams-park-zoo

heres the website to Rogers Williams park and Zoo)