THE EXCLUDED ANIMALS

Only a certain

claque of beasts

is part of the

crèche racket

forming a

steamy-breathed

semicircle

around the

baby basket.

Anything more

exotic than

a camel

is out of luck

this season.

Not that the

excluded animals envy

the long-lashed

sycophants;

cormorants

don’t toady,

nor do toads

adore anybody

for any reason.

Nor do the

unchosen alligators,

grinning their

three-foot grin

as they laze

in the blankety waters

like the blankets on Him.