Born into freedom,
at liberty to roam,
explore all things.
Young, no skill to elude hunters.
Pod terrorized, futile attempts to protect younglings.
Noises, ropes, cries of cetaceans,
two-legged creatures leaping into water,
binding two young females, children of others.
Placed in a sling, heavy, heavy
out of liquid element, entreaties
mouths opening, closing, gasping,
conveyed by a clanging, fetid vehicle
to a place of unknown water,
pumped in from a polluted lake,
an "oceanarium" far from oceanic waters.
Now, two-legged creatures feed, touch,
teach them tricks to amuse schoolchildren,
rewarding with dead fish.
They swim, dive, in a concrete pond,
flailing flukes helplessly,
singing sad songs no one hears.