Poetry and Prose By Tami Hay, M.A., RMT from All-Creatures.org

Monsters

I used to be afraid of monsters
Under my bed, in the closet, lingering in the dark
Then I became vegan
And realized the monsters are us

Lingering in camouflage
Knives and guns, arrows, and traps
Driving trucks to slaughter
Building walls and fences to keep them in
And teaching learned helplessness
While we shoot and trap all wildlife in view
To keep our chickens and ‘Die-stock’ for our own carnivorous desire for flesh

Shooting a free bird in flight
Trolling and trawling the oceans
Always throwing out most of what we have suffocated in nets
Casting our bets
Yet not our karma
Or dharma
Or sounding the alarms

So, if the monster is us
How to do illuminate the dark
once we befriend those frightened creatures
who wants to hide under the covers
until all this scariness goes away.

Wondering why monsters keep feeding on flesh and blood
When they could lie down in the grass once more
And safely dream…

© Tami Hay 2023

 

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