I feel so sad for the seal.
Nature is red in tooth and claw
but the orca must have its meal.
And didn’t the seal eat fish in its turn,
in its graceful sinuous dive?
And those fish ate krill or smaller fish
killing to stay alive?
Lions and tigers feed their cubs
on grazing elegant deer,
or whatever vegetarian
should happen to appear.
I’m told by others time and again
that I shouldn’t eat living things,
whether fish or fowl or good red meat
that travel on feet or wings.
My only excuse is, in gratitude,
I try not to cause them strife,
but try to ensure what few I take
had a peaceful, outdoor life;
a cherished life and an easy death:
its the least that I can do,
but still I am troubled that something must die,
for plants are living things too!
Life is a funny old thing all round,
the carbon cycle goes on.
We live and pass on our DNA
even after we’re gone.
In dust our elements fioat on the wind
to become something else by and by,
rebirth is reality time and again,
how else can I not sit and cry?
To see baby penguins freeze on the ice,
or elephants killed by men:
it’s all too cruel to contemplate.
I wonder where will it end.
Of course many deaths are natural,
it's sad but just their lot.
But so many deaths are down to us,
whether used as food or not.
To take a few, to feed ourselves
may not be to everyone's taste,
but to kill for ornament, or for pride,
is such a terrible waste.
Humanity has to think about how
it treats fellow creatures, and soon,
before we turn this beautiful earth
into something more like the moon.
One cannot legislate for greed
or the unthinking ways that prevail.
Tigers aren’t medicine, rhinos can’t help
when masculine members fail.
Perhaps if we all spread the message around,
educate people with fact,
we can call a halt to the needless deaths
and do it with kindness and tact.
For ignorance often lies behind
the awful carnage we see.
If we care for creation, let’s cherish it all
and let it begin with me.
© Jan 2014
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