Behind Bars

He sent shudders out around them.
His face was wrinkled and thin.
His nose had a pink and white stripe,
and his arms hit the bars with a swipe

to reach out of the gaps with his hands,
that were hairy and long, and he showed
a big yawn, and his sharp yellow teeth
looked a threat to all those beneath

his tall cage, where he stood and peered down,
where he jumped and swung high from the ropes,
where he fell to the ground with a bang,
where he grinned with a glistening fang,

where he crouched and inspected his bum,
where he scratched it and peed through the bars,
where his rage lived and died, and his mind,
since long time, had meekly resigned.