Rhinos said: “Humans are sentients, are they so?
Why then is the sheer reign of terror?
By poaching, eating, sacrificing, ‘zoo’ ing,
Dost thou not hear?
We are in the belly of YOU, the ONLY beast
Or our plight falls on your deaf ear?”
Sheep said: “How dare you think my IQ is lower
Still no less barbarian than Probus the Emperor,
who let spectators hunt us at Circus Maximus
The ritual is called ‘sacrifice’ in Mesopotamia
Hence, killing us in lieu of your toddler
Do you think you are dissimilar?"
Birds said: “I needn’t perch on your precious windowsill
Had you not cut our sacred trees
Time proved, I was not your human Jill
Not only did you encroach on the swathes of Earth
But you captured the pretty
While setting spikes for the unsightly”
Women said: “Not sorry for not being sorry
For dashing your hopes to tie the knot
Will marry those who set non-human animals free
With the men who never make “children weep”
With the shepherds who care only for their flock
Just in the way Elizabeth Browning sought"
Poets said: "Will abolitionists set non-human animals free?
Will you question the juxtaposition,
‘the protected cruelty’?
Surely cannot we guarantee
There may be no buoyancy
But poets pump a wealth of hope to the society"