Diana Darby ** "I V" ** Intravenous

The Zoo Keeper

The zoo keeper
with her mighty arms
and white teeth
swings down and scoops them up
like ripe bananas.
She is there to watch their step,
to steer them clear
of poop
and crumbs.
She brings them meals on trays
of vegetables and meat
and watches them devour her work.
She helps them wash
the years of skin down the drain.
She makes their bed,
the one that he lies in for hours at a time,
the one that she never sleeps in.
She gives them tea
and pills
and checks pulses and sugars.
She wears a red thong
and smells of the jungle.