VEGANGELICA

Driving down the road, she took a sudden turn

at a livestock farm to see what she could learn.

She’d passed them often, for miles and miles and miles.

No answer at the farmhouse door, so she went

across the dusty yard to see in the confinement,

one of many for miles and miles and miles.

The barn was open so she stepped inside

to see a sea of white stretching far and wide.

It seemed to go on for miles and miles and miles.

A thousand doomed eyes gazed up at her and then

she looked down and saw the baby birds inside their pen,

no longer distanced by miles and miles and miles.

        What would you do to save a life?

        Would you pick a baby up, would you put down your fork and knife?

        How does a person decide who counts?

        She saw friends others valued just in cash amounts.

Without a second thought about what she’d been taught,

she picked a baby up, whether that was right or not.

She tucked him in her coat and took him to her car.

When faced with choices, we find out who we are.

She chose the road of mercy and she traveled for miles.

Never looking back, she put the distance between

this baby bird and his future she’d seen.

The road to freedom went for miles and miles and miles.

When they stopped at last, they shared a good long look.

She named him Miles for the journey he took,

this little bird who had traveled for miles and miles.

She made him a cosy and comfy home,

with a bed on the porch and a garden to roam,

much more than anyone had ever offered to Miles.

        Can you steal someone someone shouldn’t own,

        like a sentient being whose life should be his own?

        How does a person decide who counts?

        She saw a friend others valued just in cash amounts.

Miles grew quickly with the yard to explore,

with sun and trees and the grass he’d never known before.

It was a life full of wonder and joy for Miles.

Happiness for him was sitting in her lap,

closing his eyes and taking a nice, long nap.

Being with his friend was important to Miles.

When a year had passed since Miles was in his egg,

she saw a swelling growing in his lower leg.

A foot infection was starting to spread through Miles.

Since Miles was ill, she took him to the vet,

who laughed when someone said, "Hey, that’s dinner, not a pet!"

They couldn’t see any reason to care about Miles.

        Funny how people ridicule

        compassion, mercy, and the Golden Rule

        to do unto others as you’d have done to you.

        Our feathered friends and beasts of burden are others, too.

        Strange how people pray for heaven and rebirth,

        and yet for animals create a hell on earth.

        Odd how people claim they’re thoughtful and kind,

        when whom they eat never crosses their mind.

She took Miles home and gave the medicine to him,

but the infection went throughout his system

through his veins and capillaries traveling for miles.

He huddled on the porch and cuddled by her knee

as she gently smoothed his feathers soothingly.

The vet said there was nothing more to do for Miles.

        The tragedy is he was bred to die.

        People stole his family, his ability to fly.

        They stole his future against his will.

        Why breed longevity in someone you’re going to kill?

        What would you do to save a life?

        Would you open your heart, would you put down your fork and knife?

        How does a person decide who counts?

        She loved someone others valued just in cash amounts.

When morning came and Miles didn’t wake,

she sat and pondered how quickly death could take

away the warmth and the joyful friendship of Miles.

She buried him in a sunny spot in the yard.

He would have liked it there. Maybe dying’s not so hard

when you know that you are loved like Miles.

Turkey. People laugh at the word,

but he was more than just a beautiful bird,

Miles, Miles, Miles, Miles, Miles.

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Photo sources:

Iowa Confinement Barns, Copyright 2008 by Erica Beay