by Claudia Gary

“The Smithsonian museums and National Zoo are set to reopen within days… The Smithsonian Institution says… the animals at the National Zoo and its center in Front Royal, Virginia, were still cared for [during the government shutdown].”
—NBC

Oh God, they’re coming back soon
to traipse around and stare
with stupid expectation
that when we leave our lair

it’s just for them. How lovely
to preen and lope and screech
for one another only!
But soon, gross human speech

will fill our paths and hallways
again. Cameras will flash
and popcorn scent, as always,
float by while children dash

up to the fence and mimic
our faces of ennui.
Were we too optimistic,
hoping they’d let us be?