Poetry by Denise O'Hagan
“Sunday roast”
By Denise O’Hagan
You pull your cardigan tighter as you walk through the cold section,
pausing at the rows of shining plastic-covered poultry, on special
fifty billion chickens and hens are killed
every year for human consumption
Later, in your state-of-the-art kitchen, you unpack the bird and
wash it thoroughly because, as your sister says, you just never know
they spend their lives confined in crowded sheds,
permanently treading in their own excrement
You lay it down in your baking tray, drizzle it with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle it
with coarsely ground pepper and Himalayan sea salt (you never could resist that pink)
unable to move properly or spread their wings,
they become so distressed they start to attack one other
Prising it open, you spoon in the moistened aromatic breadcrumb-and-herb
stuffing – your speciality! – until its cavity is well and truly full
some avoid eating altogether so as not to be attacked,
dying of starvation, dehydration or cardiac arrest
You circle it with potatoes, carrots and garlic cloves, stepping back to admire
the effect – it’s a good plump bird alright, enough to feed a family of seven
fattened up to twice their natural body weight,
most struggle to stand, their legs weakened and deformed
An hour and a half later, you set the table in the apricot glow of the
late summer sun (kids at the far end). Ah, the joys of alfresco dining!
the first daylight the chickens see is
by truck on their way to the slaughterhouse
At dinner, you raise a toast to celebrate long life and your husband’s father’s
seventieth birthday, drawing a shawl of pure contentment about you
at six to eight weeks, they are killed;
in their natural habitat, they live up to fifteen years
By Denise O’Hagan
You pull your cardigan tighter as you walk through the cold section,
pausing at the rows of shining plastic-covered poultry, on special
fifty billion chickens and hens are killed
every year for human consumption
Later, in your state-of-the-art kitchen, you unpack the bird and
wash it thoroughly because, as your sister says, you just never know
they spend their lives confined in crowded sheds,
permanently treading in their own excrement
You lay it down in your baking tray, drizzle it with extra-virgin olive oil, sprinkle it
with coarsely ground pepper and Himalayan sea salt (you never could resist that pink)
unable to move properly or spread their wings,
they become so distressed they start to attack one other
Prising it open, you spoon in the moistened aromatic breadcrumb-and-herb
stuffing – your speciality! – until its cavity is well and truly full
some avoid eating altogether so as not to be attacked,
dying of starvation, dehydration or cardiac arrest
You circle it with potatoes, carrots and garlic cloves, stepping back to admire
the effect – it’s a good plump bird alright, enough to feed a family of seven
fattened up to twice their natural body weight,
most struggle to stand, their legs weakened and deformed
An hour and a half later, you set the table in the apricot glow of the
late summer sun (kids at the far end). Ah, the joys of alfresco dining!
the first daylight the chickens see is
by truck on their way to the slaughterhouse
At dinner, you raise a toast to celebrate long life and your husband’s father’s
seventieth birthday, drawing a shawl of pure contentment about you
at six to eight weeks, they are killed;
in their natural habitat, they live up to fifteen years
Author’s note: Broiler chickens, as the meat industry calls them, are those chickens raised for their meat, as distinct from laying hens. This poem relates to the practices of commercial chicken-farming adopted worldwide. The information in this poem is derived from the following sources: Animal Ethics and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals.
- Denise O’Hagan is an editor and writer, based in Sydney, with a background in commercial book publishing. In 2015, she established her own imprint, Black Quill Press, to assist independent authors. Her work is published widely and has received numerous awards, most recently the Dalkey Poetry Prize 2020. https://denise-ohagan.com
Copyright©2021 by Denise O’Hagan. All Rights Reserved.