The Animal Census
John G. Young, M.D.
The times were chaotic.
The animals were behaving like, well, animals.
The king ordered that all come to their census.
He questioned his confidant the mole to see what was going on.
Though blind from birth, he was used to digging below the surface.
Insightfully he asked:
Do you look down from above saying nothing?
Or do you talk continuously repeating other's lines?
Then get stuck in their web?
Do you wag your "tale" waiting to be petted?
Or do you make a monkey of yourself--then hang by it?
Would you rather float than stand on your own feet?
Or do you have inner resources
to last even through the dry seasons?
Do you so blend in that you lose yourself?
Are you so special you must leave with the leaves?
Maybe you shield with such archaic ways
that you have lost touch with the present?
Has your thick skin left you horny?
Just how do you blow off steam?
Do you sleep in the day, then howl at night?
Do you only feel secure hunting in packs?
Or wearing a mask when you go out?
Do your lines suggest more than they deliver?
Or do you give all--then squeal?
What do you do with your fleeting beauty?
Have you come to terms with eating worms?
Have you gained wisdom by asking questions?
Or do you keep aloof,
dressed formally suited only-for coldness?
Then skip town when the situation gets too hot?
Are you always buzzing around,
doing the social thing
but never asking why
or if it should be done?
Maybe you just prefer to clean up
after the others have gone?
Do you stick your neck out to get going?
Or do you slide forward on your own goo?
Do you "knows" into other's business?
Are there terrible teeth behind your grin?
Or is there a song you sing because it is your song?
Do you sleep through your winters,
then wonder what passed you by?
Or are you alerted to the approach of a stranger?
Are you forgotten
when others consider the sound of hooves?
Maybe it's because you pick up signals others miss?
Do you bend to reach that goal?
Then find it impossible to unwind?
Do you puff yourself up to make a big impression?
Then find yourself becoming wrinkled
as you get older?
Are you a cross between a mare and an ass,
carrying other's loads,
but otherwise leading a sterile life?
Does your show of strength set you up for slaughter?
Or is your strength in your creative abilities—
going for many options looking for something new?
Does your overflow nourish others as well as your own?
What kind of animal are you anyway?
THE END