We moved on from being cannibals
‘Though us humans still
Are omnivores,
Not as dogs who tear their prey
Limb from limb in aggressive lust.
We do so with humane concerns,
Empathically and with no cheer
Until the meat is on the plate
And the smell of cooking in the air.
Unlike the orca, playing ‘cat and mouse’,
Unconcerned with matters of cruelty,
Unlike the crocodile that twists and shakes
While tearing teeth rip limbs away without a tear,
Unlike the anaconda devouring its living prey
Or even a fox in a chicken coop,
Killing more than it could eat.
Most of us abhor the death
Preferring to abjure the senses
That link demise of living thing
With eating, drinking and wearing skin
And skincare that is wearing thin
Confusing Bambi with a wild thing.
Emotion feeds the vegan soul
With spurious religious texts
That, out of context, seek to show
Irrelevance of meat to life
Forgetting first that life is meat
And how the happy human soul’s
Uplifted eating bacon and eggs.
Al Barz 