The Reptilian Cave

Scared of the dark,
The little girl wanders,
Through the reptilian cave.
The zoo keeper said,
That it was all quite safe,
But she doesn't really quite believe him.

Peering into tanks,
She sees snakes and turtles,
In other alligators,
In others fish.
She jumps back in fright,
As a pair of frigid eyes,
Glares at her angrily behind the glass.
The snake coils around the artificial branches in its tank,
Hatred in its yellow eyes.
It wants its freedom back,
But instead here it lies.

Perhaps the snake was dangerous,
If ever scared,
It would certainly have struck,
But now more than ever,
With the warning of human approach,
It will attack.

Now down in the reptilian cave,
The little girl looks at the snake,
A dangerous viper,
Of beauty and fear,
It looks back at her,
With an expression akin to fear,
As though to say;
Look what your fear has done to me,
Im no more a predator than you,
For me it was self-protection,
What is it to you?
I want to slither through the desert,
And see the great outdoors,
Not be here with my artificial branches,
With all these humans,
Im never at ease.

She had to agree with the snake,
In a way,
He was right,
She had to agree with the snake,
In the future,
Perhaps it would be her fight.
She would have to stay free,
No matter the cost,
She would have to stay vicious,
Or pay the price.

She hated the snake for hating her,
But he did have a point,
It was her kind that had captured him,
She had no right to blame him for revenge,
And she remembered that unlike him,
She was uncannily free.

So she bid the snake farewell,
And walked out of the reptilian cave,
Smiling at the sunshine,
That greeted her outside,
And she thought about the snake,
Hiding behind artificial branches,
And she realized the glare in the yellow eyes wasnt hate,
Merely fear.