False Portrayal of Nature on YouTube
by Sabrina Dawkins
Man-eating beasts
shown living the lives
of pampered housewives.
They make them look so sweet.
Why would a fed housewife attack?
Ferocious lions
given nice human names
like Jenny or Meg.
Their growl sounds the same as the men.
Video title said a wild animal
was saving his wife from predator assault.
A commenter popped the fairy tale bubble
by noticing the “wife’s” testicles.
I guess the title was meant to be sentimental,
a clickbait ploy.
Another title said a bear gave a golfer a hug.
But a shrewd commenter said
the bear was sizing his enemy up,
a baby bear
who used the golfer’s legs as support
to stand on twos instead of fours.
But when he realized he was too short
he darted away.
I saw elephants paint better than I can.
But upon further research
it’s the same painting again and again
because humans make a lifetime of training
look like inspiration
for tourist money.
They paint by rote.
So I looked up “chimpanzees painting”
but in between disorganized strokes
the ape was tasting the paint.
Even worse,
the title said he was an artist
and the human keepers
said he was painting
specifically for donations
for his ape relatives,
the backdrop, slow piano music.
It seems everywhere
the fiction light burns bright
truth finds its way there
to dump cold water
on me, the dreamer.
So now awake, I look at a dark screen,
cold and soaking wet.
No fantasy world would set.
To media attempts
to bend reality,
nature remains indifferent.