April 13: Don't Look

I read somewhere that when
you look at a gorilla with intention,
the gorilla, being a shy creature, may decide
you are a threat to his family 

and attack you in a flash, 

some 300 pounds of confrontation.
So, if you are traveling in gorilla country,
don’t look.

Once at a zoo with a large compound
for gorillas, I saw a male sitting quietly,

his back against a tree.
I looked at him and then away.
He looked at me and then away.
For just five minutes, we repeated
this dance of glances.
I wasn’t in danger.
Neither was he.
I wanted to communicate
but did not know his language.

Dismissing me, he wandered away.

I was obviously not a threat.
And then I wondered why this creature, 

capable of some level of thought, 

lived behind glass.

What had we taken from him?

Eastern Gorilla by Michael Bell, Pixabay 

Today's prompt comes from a mashup of Robert Lee Brewer's prompt to write about purpose (or lack of it), and napowrimo's prompt to not apologize for something you have taken, that is something that didn't belong to you. 

Not quite sure how that led to gorillas, but I did remember that trip we took to Tanzania where we saw herds of zebras and wildebeests, and mama lions at dawn taking their cubs to the watering hole. Time to get out the picture books on Day 36 of quarantine. Stay safe!