The Caribou
Originally, the zoo was built to remind us
of our separation from nature.
There was no animal in the cage, just earth.
This reminds me
of Tony’s mom’s suburban lawn
in Madison, Wisconsin
overflowing with
native prairie grass
and signs from the city that read
“I am not insane.”
I keep the table in my closet
quiet and empty so it’s like
a cage of grass.
That’s where I write this poem now.
It’s Labor Day. Last night, The Caribou
was rammed with laughing people
none among us aware
of what a caribou really is—
how it lives, eats, feels, sleeps, talks, or dies.
I drank rainbow cans of beer
called Montucky Cold Snacks
with the astronomer
I share a blue house with.
He uses a radio
to map the Milky Way.
That’s the kind
of speechless life
a person craves—
where there is no cage
just ink and distance,
spots of light I won’t
ever understand and
beyond them the soft hair
around a black hole
remembering what it ate for lunch
20,000 years ago—sometimes,
me, too—my soft hair catches
the smell of what I cook or burn
and I walk around a record
for a while. But I’m on a leash –
presided over even when alone
by a voice in presidential moon boots
or the silk pants of a ringleader, controlled
by the fragrant ticket taker
who sleeps in the booth
in a chamber of my heart…
Thank you for reading The Nation!
We hope you enjoyed the story you just read, just one of the many incisive, deeply-reported articles we publish daily. Now more than ever, we need fearless journalism that shifts the needle on important issues, uncovers malfeasance and corruption, and uplifts voices and perspectives that often go unheard in mainstream media.
Throughout this critical election year and a time of media austerity and renewed campus activism and rising labor organizing, independent journalism that gets to the heart of the matter is more critical than ever before. Donate right now and help us hold the powerful accountable, shine a light on issues that would otherwise be swept under the rug, and build a more just and equitable future.
For nearly 160 years, The Nation has stood for truth, justice, and moral clarity. As a reader-supported publication, we are not beholden to the whims of advertisers or a corporate owner. But it does take financial resources to report on stories that may take weeks or months to properly investigate, thoroughly edit and fact-check articles, and get our stories into the hands of readers.
Donate today and stand with us for a better future. Thank you for being a supporter of independent journalism.
Thank you for your generosity.
