Wild Beasts in Cages

The shriek
Of a wild thing
Caught in a cage
Pacing, snarling, hissing
Battering itself against the bars
Fighting steel with bone.
Scratching, biting
Curling up
In its protective shell.
Trapped inside
Its own self-constructed hell.
And left to
Its own devices
Of tearing at its world
Its self.
Unfed, ungroomed, unloved
Uncared for
And without human words
To ask for help.
To be a helpless thing as this
Is not for me.
Clawmarked tooth marked
Torn skin
Bleeding, raw
And bare.
It stings and burns
It smarts
Its done
Now let it heal.
And forget
The whims of a wild beast
Groom it, feed it, love it
Still.
Look inside, not without
No longer feel
Entrapped.