Orangutan petting

The forest offers up a vibrant ape
Its hair so red
The canopy its hideaway
Its where it builds its bed
A nest of leaves atop of some
Tree
Floating in the sky
Until man and his inappropriate logging
Just came by

Massive saws and grinders
Ripped into the heart
Bulldozers and JCB’s
Pulled it all by cart
And all that was left was wretchedness
Bare ground for all to see
The trees and leaves and myriad sounds
Would never ever be

Seen by any eyes again
Just the violence and the pain
The cacophony of nature
All its history in vain
The colours of the rainbow
That filtered through the trees
Lost in this catastrophe
This moment we must seize

They came for me
I was broken hearted
Burned a bit and torn
Aching from having fallen
Having felt all of the scorn
Of man the dreaded monster
Who comes with all the pain
Who ruptured our existence
And provided the disdain

A number of us survivors
Were taken to a place
And thrust inside dark cages
That was to be our base
Other people came to see us
Tourists we were told
And we were then expected
To be as good as gold

To sit quietly together
To watch the humans who
Paid money just to see us
All we had to do
Was let them touch us
And breathe on us
And take their photo’s
We
Just sit there feeling
Uncomfortable
Observing them to see

These so called tourists up close
They sweat and smell a lot
They touch us with their clammy hands
Its something that is not
Altogether joyful
But we have to knuckle down
And accept our new life gracefully
Or we might be kicked out of town

Petting places they are called
Tourists pay a lot
And they seem so insensitive
And happy they are not
They seem dark and possessive
And churlish in a way
They grab at us
They fail to feel
And somehow they don’t play

We are very susceptible
To their breathing and their ills
It seems that they all carry
A multitude of chills
Their pale skin proves their lack of health
And we have to be aware
The illnesses they carry
Seemingly they share

Our place is in the canopy
Not here upon the ground
Being close to all of you
That is what we have found
Petting zoo’s as they are called
Are hell holes for us and, we
Given the chance would have rather
Died falling from a tree

To be rescued and be caged up
And put on show for you
To pet us and to touch us
Its not what you should do
Indonesia should realise
We are iconic and we need
Forests dense and luscious
Where all life can succeed

We beg you to respect that
Give us back our place
The forest is exceptional
Its something you must face
The life force is immeasurable
Its intoxicating there
It enlivens our existence
You have to be aware

Its dramatic its sensational
Its humbling and sublime
It has everything that you could want
Its where we pass our time
To destroy it and plant oil palm
Brings the darkness to the fore
Brings the man made hell of evil
Right up to our door