lab.pom
(c) 1997, Patti Pasculli
a poem

NOTE: dedicated to all the animals in research labs being tortured

"lab"
written 7-3-95 at 7:40pm

alone in a wooden box
   wondering why i hear all those knocks
climb the walls
   try to get out
i hear echoes of laughter
   billowing about
people on the outside...
   are they here for me?
      to poke 
         and prod
            make faces at me?
why am i here?
   in a wooden box?
are there others like me?
   hearing those knocks?

hearing those knocks
   that sound far away
knowing my life
   will be taken some day
i'm not scared of dying
   ...its how i will die
will it be quick?
   like the blink of an eye?
i doubt that...
   i've heard the others cry