June 2021
Joan Leotta
joanleotta@gmail.com
joanleotta@gmail.com
Bio Note: I'm a writer and story performing living by the beach now. In addition to building sandcastles decorated with shells, I can occasionally be found with my children's old toys, although I think that putting tiny motors on lego toys would actually be beyond my skill set.
The Comfort of my Robot Petting Zoo
After “Do you seek the robot petting zoo to keep your loneliness a secret?” the last line of Checkered Mates, a poem by Tricia Knoll (published in VV in April 2020) and the title of her new chapbook.
Seeking solace from a world that
seems to have abandoned me,
I unpack my son’s smiling
baby Lego animals,
line them up and then,
using craft sticks,
construct makeshift pens,
a petting zoo.
Potted succulents, herbs
provide the greenery.
The zoo stretches out along my
kitchen table where none but I
sip morning coffee, afternoon tea.
Mindful of the need to keep
my plastic carnivores
distanced from
tasty herbivores,
I widen spaces
between enclosures.
The creatures smile all the while,
submitting tamely to my ministrations.
I poke around, look for
tiny motors that could animate
my animalia so they could
greet me with bleats and growls
and move their heads up and down
when I reach out to pet them.
Yes, a robot petting zoo
would pour out affection for me
at the click of a remote. In any case,
even unmotorized, they smile
encouragements when I speak
of sad or lonely things
Their smiles are endless.
They never turn away.
©2021 Joan Leotta
Editor's Note: If this poem(s) moves you please consider writing to the
author (email address above) to tell her or him. You might say what it is about the poem that moves you. Writing to the author is what builds the community at Verse Virtual.
It is very important. -JL