Poetry – Page 18

[to the nameless turkey that president biden ate today after nobly pardoning both peach and blossom] by n. speck

‘i used to torment penny. a childlike thing to do
she’d whine and sit by mother, to say, i don’t like you’
small minds without ambition but to be loved and rest
why should i crush young feathers new-fallen from the nest?

with ermine fur and holly we merrily deck the halls
a cosy read from herriot. all creatures great and small
o earth and fields and mountains, o how have we gone wrong
to grind up meaty scraps of those we say do not belong?

why walk the grey enclosures this midwest safari boasts
to see the eyes of sluggish lions fed on greens and toast
o earth and fields and mountains, retake these concrete walls
at least the farmland, loved and grown, is gifted fallow falls

the trees we must protect them. the humans that are ill
we steward what we’re given according to God’s will
recycle plastic bottles. all well and good and fair
but i’m the creatures’ lorax and i see injustice there

if by my logic i can’t wean you from your rare-cooked steak
have you looked into its eyes? how do you know it’s not awake?