We eat so many animals
The flesh, brain, liver
Sautéed just so in butter
Herbs to enhance flavor
The carcass made into stock
To build strong, firm muscles
To heal your cold and flu

We kill so many babies
Lambs slaughtered at a few weeks
Veal from milk-fed baby cows
Tender, juicy, delicious

In China, they eat dogs
Americans are outraged
Though we slaughter millions
Of chickens & turkeys a day
We love them grilled in a
Sandwich, as a salad topping
Roasted, broiled, stir-fried

And the Amazon forest burns
So we can eat more animal flesh

But we love meat even more
Big fat juicy steaks, burgers
Ribs tossed on the barbecue
Besides a few grilled veggies

Indigenous tribes run for their lives
Wild birds, endangered species
Flee the fires to appease our appetites

Fancy magazines show glossy photos
Of marrow bones on a plate beside
A slice of toast, a handful of arugula
Framed by a chilled white Zinfandel

Those bones once carried a live steer
Through the chute to a waiting cattle
Prod powered again & again until the
Beast’s knees buckled, dropping its spent
Carcass to the blood-spattered floor

The eating of meat can be daily
A quick bite or a grand experience
One with animals raised locally
On the farm slaughtered humanly
Right next to the vegetable garden
Then arranged on a thin gold plate
Rims reflecting the candles glow

For your warm loaf of artisan bread
We have fresh single udder butter
Pulled this morning from a pasture
Cow with a human name…Alice

We eat animals because we can
Because we don’t consider that
Animals suffer, feel pain, love
Show compassion, have friends

Have you ever met a live chicken
How about a live duck or goose
Did you know they have friends
And family, watch out for each other
Laugh loudly, talk trash about you

We stuff our bodies with dead
Carcass until it oozes from pores
Humans smell of rot and death
The stench barely hidden with
Strong perfume of personal choice

We become what we eat, obedient
Complacent, mind-dead cows
Chewing cud in a field of other
Cows earmarked for slaughter

We shy away from body shaming
Though not from what we put into
Our bodies every single day
Chemicals, sugar, enriched dough
Colorings, flavorings, dead animals

Making thick, rich saturated fat that
Bulges out from your meaty thighs
Engorging your extended buttocks
Balancing a chilled vodka and tonic

We take on the fear and struggle
Of the animal, we kill, cook, eat
That same terror of a mother and
Her baby crashing through a blazing
Forest racing to reach the rivers edge

How many bodies will be discovered
Floating down the great Amazon river
Once the trees have all burned and
Cows, chickens, geese, turkey, ducks
Sheep, goats, and buffalo are transported
In to populate the mythical forest
Land once proudly called Amazonia