Animal Cracker
Ruth Lehrer
Tiger laughs when you push
She already has dirt with her donut
and knows the cage is cardboard.
She’s savvy on feeds of zoos and booze
She gets a kick
from slow prey
and a large coke with ice.
She sasses the tiger cha-cha
past catfish claws and spies in spice.
At night she snorts
when you try to tell her
the jungle
is dangerous.
She already has dirt with her donut
and knows the cage is cardboard.
She’s savvy on feeds of zoos and booze
She gets a kick
from slow prey
and a large coke with ice.
She sasses the tiger cha-cha
past catfish claws and spies in spice.
At night she snorts
when you try to tell her
the jungle
is dangerous.
Listen to Ruth read the poem here:
About the author
Ruth Lehrer is a writer and sign language interpreter living in western Massachusetts. Her writing has been published in journals such as Monkeybicycle, Everyday Genius, Meat for Tea, and Biostories.