Driving through the city today on our way to the zoo, I was captivated by the pulse of small city moments: a grill leaning out on a second-story ledge, curtains upon curtains of ivy, a young guy pedaling alongside the cars, pretty protective bars criss-crossing windows lining the streets.
And the zoo, too, captivated me. All the mammals and reptiles and birds, so diverse and so beautiful, all in cages. It made me happy and sad; happy to see them so closely, sad to see them locked up.
There was a Lorikeet Experience thinger, where they let you into the huge cage with dozens of these birds flying around you. You hold out your hand, cupped around a small cup of nectar, and let the lorikeets fly onto your arm and drink.
A red-and-black-and-orange one flew onto my arm and stayed there for a good three minutes, licking not the cup but my hand; all over it, into the palm and around the fingers. The trainers laughed awkwardly and said that it liked me (they didn't look like they knew for sure). Whatever. I wish I could have taken that one home.
Ah, so childish. I haven't been to the zoo in years. YEARS. Maybe it's a good thing: the animals are so beautiful, but their eyes are so dead. (But it's not like the free animal's eyes are any different.) I suppose I'm a sucker for freedom, for the wild.
I didn't realize I loved animals so much until today. Seeing the curls of the flamingo's neck, the striped awkwardness of the okapi, the disgusting way Galapagos tortoises crush watermelon with their tongue, the silent paths worked through tanks of water by another fleshy turtle, the sleek black scales of that African viper, the silliness of the peacocks, the quirky pawing of the Egyptian plover, the shimmering rainbow-hued feathers of that small starling... it made an impression.
Even the giraffes, who I had loved but not nearly as much as today when I saw the baby giraffe wobble as it struggled to sit down.
Especially the birds, though. That was my absolute favorite part: walking into this gorgeous silver building, walking so close to these birds that I could touch them if I chose - a few even walked right next to us on the path! It awed me to the center of my heart.
Papa said we'll go back sometime this year, to finish walking through the rest of the zoo. I'm glad; I'm so glad. I'm so glad God made such a wide, wide world full of such wonderful creatures.
Did you know the Bible mentions unicorns? It does.
Why does this give me great hope?
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