Ta Voix

A week after the man on TV said,

‘No going out until I say yes,’

(He looked important with his grey moustache and hair)

I was still on my couch;

And I had started talking to my mug

The one with a ‘Welcome to the Zoo!’

Then a sudden thought:

I could have a zoo in my room!

A monkey on the shelf,

Two squirrels in the closet

Three turtles in the sink,

Four geckos on the carpet

And ooooh, an elephant in my room too!

I will fill this room and turn it empty to full.

So, I called the zoo:

‘Can I loan a monkey, two squirrels, three turtles,

four geckos, and an elephant?’

They apologised in a robotic voice,

‘We are unable to receive your call,

due to the pandemic we aren’t open at all.’

I lay on my couch for another week

And started a conversation with the vacuum.

(The mug doesn’t talk very much)

What must I do? I need a zoo in my room!

Then I saw a mask on my desk, a sudden brilliant plan:

I could sneak into the zoo with the mask

Free an elephant and come out fast.

No one would see me under a mask,

No one would be there to ask!

I stole away at midnight

Under the flickering streetlight

Past the silent homes on the right

And that alley that is slightly tight

I was so afraid, but no one was in sight

Soon the zoo stood before me

I climbed up the fencing

Past the tigers, the otters, and the beavers

Past the bear, the owls, and the deers

Finally, I saw one elephant sitting on its own

He looked at me, eyes full of forlorn;

He was just like me alone and locked in.

I took a big pair of scissors and started cutting

The fence broke, and I set the elephant free.

We walked back to my room,

Right in the centre of the road.

I told him how happy I was

and how much I wanted to ride on a swing

He told me he had never seen a road so long or a building so tall

And he didn’t know what a swing was.

‘The world is pretty big,’ I said, ‘I am sorry, we can only be in my room,

but don’t worry I can tell you all about swings.’

When we arrived;

Under the silent stars we both fell asleep,

Me hugging his leathery skin.

My room now smaller but full

Not with a zoo, but with a friend.