At the Zoo

A man had a notion to share
His lunch with a large brown bear,
And sought him out in his lair.

But the path back to friendship was barred:
The bear bit down on him hard,
And had to be shot by a guard.

Life is a picnic, it’s true,
And even a dinner for two,
But the menu may include you.

The Elephant

The elephant, it once was thought,
Had no knees to bend,
And therefore was a noble beast
That would not serve or tend.

Now naturalists think differently
(Knees have their time and place)
And elephants in general seem
More supple as a race.

But O the inner elephant,
Though hide-bound to the last,
And supple though he seems of late,
Serves neither time nor caste:

His being is a plenitude,
A natural constancy,
Unchanging whether he performs
On stiff or bended knee.

Robert Conquest: Garland for a Propagandist