animal crackers

the lion with three legs & the rhinoceros
have convinced me otherwise. why did you
have to go all supermarket, on us? 
i'm standing in the aisle with the big jar--
lid open & seal punctured. i couldn't handle
all the growling & shrieking anymore so i 
followed the commotion back to the animal crackers.
on the picnic bench at snack time we tore
off their legs one by one-- the alpha beasts.
i asked the boys what noise the lion makes
& they opened their mouths to let out
the sound of an elephant. is this vegan?
how did they breathe for this long
under plastic? the thrashing of cookie-bodies,
the camel's hooves kicking the bison 
in the head again. i heard he's going
extinct. what kinds of bodies crumble
when broken in two. sweet vanilla & biscuit.
counted out in the plastic cup-- the final
chamber of the heart before the mouth.
i pour them all out on the floor, encourage
them to flee. i tell them that the teacher
will be back soon so it, as always, a good
time to make a get-away. i'm scared of 
the hippopotamus because we watched that special
on animal planet & they stampede people to death--
flattened out on the metal tray. i watch
my skin baking-- wafer-ing of my elbows 
& my joints. i join the heard-- a monkey
or a giraffe? bending down their necks-- they're
scared (as they should be). i never meant this
to go so far. i'm still in 2nd grade at 
the snack table with the safari guilt-- with 
a handful of limbs. this gorilla was born
with no head but can still run. does this
make me a carnivore (again)? 
the lion bites me & i forgive him instantly--
after all this packaging what else is
left to do? he sprints but doesn't make
it very far. this is an apology then, maybe,
to the sheep & the seal who were patient with me.
what sound does a girl make? i ask them 
& they stare at me puzzled for a few moments
before replying "help!"