The Panther His vision, from the constantly passing bars, has grown so weary that it cannot hold anything else. It seems to him there are a thousand bars; and behind the bars, no world. As he paces in cramped circles, over and over, the movement of his powerful soft strides is like a ritual dance around a centre in which a mighty will stands paralysed. Only at times, the curtain of the pupils lifts, quietly.
An image enters in, rushes down through the tensed, arrested muscles, plunges into the heart and is gone. R AINER M ARIA R ILKE Take a point of view for or against zoos, or even consider both points of view and write a couple of paragraphs or speak about this topic for a couple of minutes in class. V ICTORIA S ACKVILLE -W EST The Greater Cats The greater cats with golden eyes Stare out between the bars. Deserts are there, and different skies, And night with different stars.