The following poem says it all. This is the main reason for me why I dislike zoo’s and keeping animals in cages. But behind the obvious  is  for me the human being in his/her own cage.

The Panther
in the Jardin des Plantes, Paris

His vision, from the constantly passing bars,
has grown so weary that it cannot hold
anything else. It seems to him there are
a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world.

As he paces in cramped circles, over and over,
the movement of his powerful soft strides
is like a ritual dance around a center
in which a mighty will stands paralyzed.

Only at times, the curtain of the pupils
lifts, quietly-. An image enters in,
rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles,
plunges into the heart and is gone.

The selected Poetry and Prose of R.M. Rilke by Stephen Mitchell

I sent you my daughter
to mate with the son of Man,
but you fed her from the knowledge tree
then trod her under foot ’til she became
the lowliest of my creatures,
reviled and cast down.
Then you called her Whore,
banned her from her places of worship,
you cut down her sacred groves,
and raised up monuments
to a lesser God
where the sacred trees had stood.
Then you stripped her and left her naked
in the streets, reviled by all who passed.
But my holy serpent
surrounded her, and protected her,
and she slept in the depths of the oceans,
and stirs in the deepest caves,
and wakes to the weeping
of mothers and children,
and clothes herself in the shining dawn
of a new day.
Prepare yourself.
She is come.

from She Who Is….1998- Dale Aycock

When the circle forms in my name
there will I be.
When the candles are lit in my name
there will I be.
When you call down the moon in my name
there will I be.
When you close your eyes and think of love
there will I be.
The circle is opened.
Blessed be.

Dale Aycock

Once upon a time
I dreamt
I hoped
I longed
to throw myself into your heart
to throw myself into your body
and fly to distant planets
discover the universe
slide on the rainbow
rest on the clouds
visit Grandmother Moon
and Grandfather Sun
be gently embraced by Brother Wind.
You were my Hero.
You swept me off my feet.
You took me to heights
I have never been before.
You took me deep down
into the darkness of my Soul
into the pain of despair
into the sorrows of the world
into the dark cave of hopelessness
lying on the cold ground
of excruciating pain
my body and heart in agony
torn into million pieces
crying out to my Creator for help.
My dream is still here.
Some day, there will be somebody,
who recognizes the depths of my Soul
through the depths of his Soul
and we are one with God.

(Barbara)

Drowning in pain
swimming through salty water
the lump in my throat
does not let me swallow
waves of nausea go through me
my body wants to crawl
on Mother Earth
putting my face down
on her cool soil
seeking comfort
being caressed by her hands.
(Barbara)

To crawl into the womb
of Mother Earth
darkness
lightness
Grandfathers are coming in
the drum is singing
the water is pouring
the Spirits are dancing
the healing can begin
(Barbara)