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Things (Free verse) by Quarton Off the assembly line they role,
bicycles and washing machines,
lawn mowers and airplanes;
manufactured in an endless variety
of inanimate things.
But when did a chicken or steer,
a lamb or a hog,
become merely an object,
an unfeeling and unaware thing?
Factory farming, growth hastened
to maturity--hormone creativity;
unnatural lives confined--defined,
from birth to ignoble death.
Amidst the mayhem of the cutter's knife,
animal cries--bewildered eyes;
maximum profit mentality--reality;
indifferent to the difference
between a lamb and a shovel--
a bleat or a scrape.
Newborn calves isolated--violated,
destined to die when three months old,
throats slit hanging upside down.
Unintended mercy--culpability;
veal all that remains to justify the pain.
Does the tender pink flesh
lessen the suffering,
do we compliment the chef?
Inhumanity served medium rare.
Animals possess rights beyond human
selection or rejection;
though we as a species create misery
in denial of shared presence--essence;
with impunity and separate from the system
we all share.
Our common bond trivialized--unrealized as
by virtue of no virtue; altruism viewed
with open disdain--in vain.
While the cruelty continues
unabated--unsatiated tho all life related;
animals alive and sentient yet
demeaned and mistreated, abused and confused,
crying out thing--machine.
Up the ladder:
Cocky
Down the ladder:
The Birds
Votes: (green: user, blue: anonymous)
Arithmetic Mean: 6.0
Posted: December 26, 2002 8:28 AM PST; Last modified: December 26, 2002 1:12 PM PSTWeighted score: 5.5 Overall Rank: 2687 Comments:
i'm on the fence here, because i believe in what you are saying, but i don't know that it work in this form. i believe that animals are sentient, and suffer. i believe that factory farming dehumanizes us, as much as it disregards the value of life. i see the yellow-crated chicken trucks going by, full and unsheltered at 75 mph in this cold, and i realize that this is not considered unkind. i look around a little--do some reading, and i become a vegetarian for a few years. i lapse, and justify it as 'acknowledging that i am part of the food chain.' and i used to be against hunting. now, i feel like it's the most humane way to get meat. i just don't like to think about it. no one does. but there must be a way to be what i am without contributing to the suffering. please tell me there is.
there is, isn't there?
Hi, Well, I'm not really against hunting or
raising livestock. It is what is hunted for what purpose and how "captive" animals are treated that concerns me. If there was no livestock raised, the animals would obviously never have been born. If treated humanely, they would probably opt for existence. We all must die.
Consider this: As a result of contraception, loads of people aren't being born. If given the choice, those people would probably opt for existence. Therefore contraception is naughty.
If you are the Pope, it is indeed naughty. And I
was speaking about animals. Most humans, if they were shown what they were getting into, would probably say no fucking way and return to their former state of oblivion.
So does that mean you think contraception for animals is naughty?
this was a great read. loved it two things.....typo early on become HAS TO BE FIXED, and i would love it more if machines was singular instead at the end...machine. that would be 'heavy'. i'll wait to vote.
Typo is fixed and things and machines
are now singular. It does read better with the changes. Thank you, sir.
Meat is to murder as Man is to machine
Soul is to Tin Man as benevolence is to
animal cruelty. Thanks for the read.
Ask yourself this: How can something that intentionally spends its entire life in the nude be sentient?
Well....good question and perhaps they have no
choice. What would a quarter million pound blue whale wear? Anything it wanted to!...and my neighbor has two toy poodles that have little doggie sweaters. But I'll bet they have a problem putting them on and taking them off.
Well I think the very least a whale could do would be to weave some sort of nappy out of seaweed, don't you? As regards doggie sweaters: unless the doggie intentionally wears the sweaters to conceal its nudity (as opposed to your disgusting, sick neighbour forcibly clothing the wretched aminal), then I cannot accept that it satisfies the proposed criteria for sentience.
You are probably correct however, how about Alex, a
gray parrot who is able to perceive quantities and identify various shapes and colors? Also, he orders his own food and uses words in syntax....By the way, he said to say hello and asked if you could send him some sunflower seeds.
All those things can be done by a computer. Does that mean computers are sentient? I thought you were going to attempt to refute the claim that something is sentient if and only if it intentionally conceals its nudity by saying that people living in nudist colonies would, if the nudity theory was true, not be sentient.
Indeed they are not sentient.
Yes, but, does a computer know the differece between
a banana split and chopped liver? I think not but Alex does. He also generalizes concepts and, unlike a computer, he is affectionate tho at times he gets cranky, usually when he orders his steak rare and it comes back medium. Regarding those nudists, the sentient/nakedness theory is exposed as quackery every time one of the males has a hard on. I'd say that would prove they are sentient though the viagra factor cannot be ignored in the equation. The bottom line is we must wait for the unification of the strong and weak nuclear force, electromagnetism and gravity before we know if Alex is sentient. He recently wrote a paper on this which Hawkings described as very un-parrot like though he made several mathematical errors. Alex is presently hard at work correcting his mistakes and the sentient/nakedness conundrum may be resolved in the near future. Just in case, he has ordered several outfits from Lands' End. He also tod me you are ruffling his feathers as he is still waiting for the sunflower seeds.
wow...this is simply amazing. i love "inhumanity served medium rare"...and your rhyme scheme...its breathtaking and intense and beautiful and a TEN!!
Wow, your kind words are appreciated and I
hereby deem myself to be a poet of great merit and excellence. But sadly, I am not though I am very pleased that you enjoyed my poem. And thank you for the ten.
Are you the PETA spokesperson? It's funny how many people object to animal cruelty yet these people all wear leather shoes, jackets...carry leather wallets.
Not as funny as your face, ANIMAL MURDERER!
Nope, I am no big fan of PETA. They are a bit too
extreme and in a sense, hurt rather than help their cause. My feelings on animal cruelty are pretty much mainstream and obvious to many who also view PETA as being too radical. Thanks for the visit.
Put the Pete Singer down and step away from the poem. I feel like I am reading a generic mantra read before a march of protest to Ted Nugent's United Sportsmen of America Headquarters in Michigan during the opening days of hunting season. You know, there is good fiction out there on this movement. Read "My Year of Meats" by Ruth, shit I cannot find the book anywhere in all these piles. Fuck. Well anyway, look it up. It tackles the subject with a bit of originality, whereas this falls into sap.
How thoughtful of you to read and comment on my poem.
The fact that you gave it a zero clearly demonstrates the extent of your biased bullshit. Critique my poems as often as you wish and make comments, good or bad. But save the zero for yourself. I must admit to a chuckle when I read about TN and the "United Sportsmen of America." Regarding the generic mantra, it goes both ways...."I feel like"..."originality", "sap", "tackles the subject", the infamous "step away" etc...ad nauseum
How exactly does it reflect a bias and a bias of what? I was suggesting a fine book that deals with the meat industry in ways that are quite original and thought provoking. As far as the other, maybe you have not read Pete Singer, which is odd if you are a proponent of this sort of thinking. Hmmm. That would explain that. It is not in TN, it is in MI and it is quite an interesting place if you ever get a chance to visit. Look, the poem may appeal to a certain sect of the population, which can use it for their propaganda, but as poetry it is sap. Do you think I was serious about the mantra bit? It was a humorous allegory. Geez. I gave you a zero because I have heard all of this said exactly this way. I want to read something thought provoking or genuinely emotional. Resorting to general themes of this issue just are not going to do it.
And unless you are dealing with Magna or Huffy (which I cannot vouch for) or other cheap versions, bikes are not made on an assembly line.
Well, I'm not sure either but I know they are
assembled and by more than one person so call it whatever you choose. Since you deem my poem to be without any merit or worth, I am sure there are other nit-picks you might enlighten me on. I actually enjoy comments on my poetry, good or bad. However, to give it a zero is absurd IMO. Does the book you suggest touch on the animals intrinsic rights that go beyond human assignment? Does it speak to the cruelty of raising calves in tiny pens, never able to run and play as most young animals do. Does it address the system's view where all life is related and connected? Does it speak to growth hormones and the comparative worth of a veal dinner and the inhumanity involved in its "production?" You may say my poem is worthless by giving it a zero and that is certainly your right to do so. But, anyone who has read some of the poetry posted throughout the internet, would quickly realize there is little or no credibility in assigning mine a zero. In fact, the real zero lies in your your comments, not mine. Understand it is not your dislike of my poem that bothers me, it is once again, the absurdity of your rating which lessens the credibility of everything that follows. Have a good day.
Are you kidding? You must be. Are you really telling me that it is that fact that I gave a poem that I deemed as propaganda and generic a zero is what bothers you? Are you that shallow? People are going to say hurtful things about your work and throw around all sorts of numbers whether on this site or another or in the publishing world. I suggest you stop mooing like a trapped baby cow and get some thicker skin. Here, I will up the score to a two. Now, on to other matters. I suggested a book by Ruth Orki that I thought you might enjoy considering "yes" it deals with in a fictitious and modern setting (rather than something like The Jungle, which albeit most excellent, dwindles into socialist propaganda) with the exact issues you mention, not only in the poem, but also in your comments. Plus, it parallels the issuse in the meat packing industry with the use of DES on pregnant women in the 1950s and 1960s, which gives it the original spin. I am sorry you are taking this as an insult. I quite enjoy when books are recommend to me. It is how you expand your horizons and move from generic thinking to well-rounded thinking. And you cannot possibly tell me you have not heard of Peter Singer, author of the book "Animal Liberation"? Written in the1970s, it is the foundation of the current animal rights movement, even in its most radical form. I suggest you check it out. It will give you more insight and make you sound less shallow. And just because multiple people build a bike, does not mean it is built on an assembly line.
Let's see now. Am I that shallow?....mooing like a trapped
baby cow (for your info, it is called a calf)....generic thinking rather than well rounded thinking (of course, you mean thinking as you do)....more insight and making me less shallow (again, you mean as you think and interpret the world, it being obvious that you consider yourself a deep thinker)....and to all of the above, you have no clue as to how I think beyond one poem that I purposely wrote to appeal to the average reader and not to one as brilliant as yourself. Why not read a few of my other poems before passing judgment on myself personally. That would give your opinions some much needed credibility.
Are you in you late teens or early 20s, because you sincerely argue like it, and I do not mean that as a bad thing. The fact that you are concerned about a numerical score on your poem is shallow. Sorry, but any way you look at it, it is rather irrelevant and the fact that you keep going back to it will not exculpate you from the labeling. And the fact that you continue to carry on this discussion in relation to the score and the poem is like beating a dead horse, which your poem would greatly object too. Whether it was penned for the general reader or not does not change the fact that the focus, while benign, still borders on propaganda, which takes away from the images, which are generic. And a calf is also a baby cow is it not. I shall read some of your other work at some time, but at this point the focus is on this poem. If this is an issue you believe in strongly read the books I recommended. I could also list numerous non-fiction exposes that are well researched and quite gripping, but I am sure you have found those at the library or at the local bookseller.
I think for a assembly line bike company you couldn't go far wrong with Raleigh. They have, incidentally, just moved their operations from Nottingham, to the far east. Bejesus knows where.
all those slanty eyed buggers look the same to me!!!!!!!!!!!!!! oh my good christ!!!!!!!!!!! and also spaek zzzzzzhatsits***((()_(_()((_@@@@@@@:@:@L Also, Quarton don't listen either poet, or nowits. Dash sorry, birthmark, oh no almost blew you. no, no blew your cover. YOU must read Birthmarks usual recommendations: Barbara, C: 1976. Tccl Binding, London. Gaskell, J: 1985. Hodder & Stoughton, London Jilly C: 2002. Bantam Press, London. I forget the titles but any search will find the relevant infomation
Yes, that seems to be the trend. Giant moved production to Taiwan and Gary Fisher/Trek has moved the cheaper bikes to produce in China. Where is the craftsmanship going. That is good with the authors, Doilie, I cannot remember half of them and can hardly find the rest. Gee, I miss you when you are in the field with the goats and little lambs.
Geezz,it seems like only yesterday. You are right,
of course, in pointing out the insignificance of the zero you gave my poem. "Different strokes" surely applies though I have had some very favorable comments so no big deal. If you decide to read a couple of my poems, I would suggest "Of curves and Straight Lines and "No One Cares." And let me know the titles of 2 or 3 you have written and I will check them out and give you an honest opinion. If you do not care to, well....it sure has been fun having you for a pen pal:) David
Yes, that seems to be the trend. Giant moved production to Taiwan and Gary Fisher/Trek has moved the cheaper bikes to produce in China. Where is the craftsmanship going. That is good with the authors, Doilie, I cannot remember half of them and can hardly find the rest. Gee, I miss you when you are in the field with the goats and little lambs.
The poem is quite good. However, get off your damn guilt trip about the fact that we heved and fought our way to the top of the pile. Do you really think that is the sabre-toothed tiger had come to take over the world instead of us, they'd really try and treat us well? Dammit, they lost. And we won. Too bad for them. Now serve me my steak -- rare, please.
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Gandhi was right--"You can judge a society by the way it treats its animals."
Fix your typos.
suffering for any animal is obscene and a direct
reflection upon a society and/or individual.
Thanks for the read.