In the Human Zoo: a Poem About Today's Society

Most of us feel sorry for animals that are kept in captivity, in zoos and the like. We feel they should be free to roam the wild without a care..other than things like finding enough food for survival and avoiding predators.

We think that we as humans experience the ultimate freedom to make choice, do the things we enjoy, party and the like. But do you ever consider that in many ways we are just like those animals trapped in a zoo. Most of us need to work to put food on the table and a roof over our heads to protect us from the elements.

Many are tied to jobs they don’t like and work for much longer hours than we have to spend on recreation. We are tied down by bills, having to pay our rent or mortgages, for utilities like electricity, gas, credit cards.

Cars, and essential appliances often need replacing or repairs..and it is a constant cycle of needing to make money to support our lifestyle. That said, I put the question to you: “Are we really free, or are we just captives in the human zoo?”

A good education

will take you far,

minimum wage,

or the local bar.

9 to 5

or graveyard shift,

do you really

get the drift?

A fair day's pay

for a hard day's work.

But the CEOs

get all the perks.

Pay your taxes,

don't complain.

If you don't save

it's down the drain.

Prices rise

of food and fuel.

Governments treat us

like we're fools.

Ignore the homeless,

they're a blight.

Move them on

out of sight.

The rich get richer,

the poor get less.

Wealth distribution

is a mess.

Do you own a home,

or does the bank own you?

You're just one animal

in the human zoo.

Wealth inequality is the unequal distribution of money and other assets within a population. The United States exhibits wider disparities of wealth between rich and poor than any other major developed country.

This situation is particularly distressing when we look at the statistics of racial breakdowns. In 2010, the the Economic Policy Institute’s The State of Working America, revealed that the typical white household had a net worth of about 20 times more than the typical African American household and 75 times more than the typical Hispanic household.