A series of commentaries by Mary T. Hoffman about: humans and animals and the cruelty inflicted upon them; prayer and grace, and the role of the Holy Spirit in our lives; and the problems that plague our lives in this corrupted world.
My husband Frank and I are Jenny Moxham fans. No, Jenny Moxham is not a “singing sensation” or “movie actress.” We admire Jenny Moxham for many reasons. First of all, she has the courage to live her ideals. She doesn’t use the responsibilities of a wife and mother to excuse herself from doing what needs to be done in this world. In our opinion, such a person possesses truly noble character.
If that were not enough, her poetry alone is of a quality that places her in the rarefied company of the world’s all-time great poets.
Knowing that there are fine people like Jenny Moxham in this fallen world gives this curmudgeon true Christian joy. I praise and thank the Lord for her.
More about Jenny Moxham:
Jenny Moxham has been a vegetarian since 1977 and a vegan since 1979.
She is married, with four children, and lives in Australia in the Dandenong Ranges (an hour from Melbourne).
She became 'converted' to vegetarianism after being saddened to see a truck load of cattle bound for slaughter and shortly afterwards, discovering that meat wasn't required for a healthy diet.
She tries to alleviate animal suffering whenever and wherever she can and writes lots of letters to the newspapers on issues concerning animal exploitation/cruelty and vegetarianism. She has put up library displays, taken humane education kits to local schools, attended demonstrations, designed animal-friendly Christmas cards, organized a campaign to have councils stop celebrating with fireworks and is currently working on getting compassion for animals into the schools and churches in her area.
Her first poem was written after walking down the street one Spring day and rejoicing in the beauty all around her ... and then realizing that millions of incarcerated factory-farmed animals will never know a Spring. She went home and wrote, They Will Never Know A Spring.
After that, various situations/events inspired her to write further poems.
Her song, A VOICE FOR THE ANIMALS won the Animal Liberation New South Wales poetry competition in 2000 and her poems have been published in various magazines and newspapers.
They Will Never Know A Spring
By Jenny Moxham
Submitted by the author - 9 Mar 2004
As I walked along the street today
My heart began to sing
For I passed a mass of daffodils
And I felt the joy of Spring.
I marveled at the colours
Of the blossom everywhere
And it filled my heart with joy
To see the trees no longer bare.
Then I thought of all the animals
And no more my heart could sing
And I ached for all the millions
Who will never know a Spring.
I thought of pigs in factory farms
In squalid filthy pens
And I thought of spider-ridden sheds
Stacked up with battery hens.
They'll never feel a ray of sun,
Their hearts will never sing.
Locked away from life and beauty
They will never know a spring.
Also see: http://all-creatures.org/poetry/moxham_jenny.html
Go on to: "Joy" in the Church
Return to: Heartbreak: Ramblings From a Compassionate Heart
Watercolor Painting by Mary T. Hoffman