Animal Crackers

Running through a forest
in my bedroom
I pass a lion
sweet golden brown.
A gorilla hangs on a vine
near my closet.
I eat his bananas.
I rhinoceros chases me
under my bed.
I bite off his head.
Crisp gazelles crunch lightly;
giraffes slide down my throat.
Teeth-snapping alligators
and tasty tigers
get the better of my fears,
till I wolf down
the rest of the box
except for some crumbs and two ears

Douglas Woodsum
Animal Crackers first appeared in Yankee, July 1997.
Poem, copyright © 2005 by Douglas Woodsum
Appearing on From the Fishouse with permission
Audio file, copyright © 2005, From the Fishouse