Would I be a Happy Child?
If I could be a circus monkey
Swinging from trapeze to trapeze
Would I be a happy child?
Or would I rather go to school?
If I could be a working donkey
Carrying loads from place to place
Would I be a happy child?
Or would I rather go to school?
If I could be a zoo tiger
Growling to get my daily dinner
Would I be a happy child?
Or would I rather go to school?
So many options for captive animals
So few options for little children
Really are they happy animals?
Or would they rather be in the wild?
Swinging from trapeze to trapeze
Would I be a happy child?
Or would I rather go to school?
If I could be a working donkey
Carrying loads from place to place
Would I be a happy child?
Or would I rather go to school?
If I could be a zoo tiger
Growling to get my daily dinner
Would I be a happy child?
Or would I rather go to school?
So many options for captive animals
So few options for little children
Really are they happy animals?
Or would they rather be in the wild?
This poem is copyright (©) Pramod Subbaraman 2025

About the Writer
Pramod Subbaraman
Pramod Subbaraman is a poet from India who lives in Hull and works in the NHS. He returned to poetry during the first COVID19 lockdown in 2020 and has since been published in the UK, the USA and South Africa. He is particularly fond of fixed form poetry.