Animal Haven

A koala and a hare,

Just escaped from a zoo,

All done with sitting pretty for the tourists,

They’re headed to the redwood forest.

 

Among these giant trees,

There is a secret society,

It’s only known to animals,

They’ve been smart and kept it private.

 

In Eureka,

Off of Highway 101,

Amid all the coniferous branches,

They will reach the portal,

To this hidden place of fun.

 

Once they reach the concealed spot,

They spread open boughs and limbs,

This reveals a hidden rock,

Which they jump upon to knock.

 

Their eyes close and they are transported,

To an enormous meadow,

In the middle there’s a spring,

With a never-ending flow.

 

Here wild deer and horses,

Graze together side by side,

Bunnies and mice run around,

Feeling no need to hide.

 

When someone new has come,

To join this secret society,

The residents throw a party,

Called a Uniting Ceremony.

 

Everyone whose home is in this meadow,

Gathers ’round to greet the new arrivals,

Who then are formally welcomed,

By a big black crow.

 

Now they are official members,

Free to come and go,

By day they’ll hang in the Great Meadow,

Then by night they’re free to roam,

The forest full of massive timber.

 

No one knows how it began,

This secret society,

The how or the why that some animals,

First felt the need to hide from Man.

 

But so it will be,

‘Til the end of the world,

If they need an escape,

To there they’ll feel drawn,

And like this koala and this hare,

They’ll make their way there.