(Poem 111 for 2024 – I am writing a poem a day)

Don’t you wonder
what the animals do
when we aren’t watching
their every single move?
Do they drive our cars
and talk on our phones,
eat at our restaurants
or take out bank loans?
Maybe they wear clothes
and chew bubble gum,
carry around umbrellas
and play a snare drum.
Do they smoke cigarettes
and walk on the streets,
wear sleek looking hats
and sleep on soft sheets?
Perhaps they laugh at us
while telling lame jokes,
then pretend ignorance;
it’s all a big hoax.
Yes, the animals out there
are living double lives,
staring blankly at us,
giving each other high fives.

Runner ups for the magical animals photos to accompany my poem: