Poetry by Atom Em
By Atom Em
I am a dairy cow, bred to produce and yield,
Just five years old, my fate’s now sealed.
Each year I’ve been forced, to birth a calf I can’t keep,
You take my babies, and I’m left to weep.
My babies are killed, for pet food and veal,
It’s really their milk, that humans steal.
My babies will never know my love, warmth, or care,
Never fill themselves, with their milk that I bear.
In this nightmare world, my babies are slain,
Only in dreams, do I see them again.
Their lives cut short, by your desire,
Your whims cause death, a cost so dire.
Udders strained raw, my cries deplored,
I’m bred to be milked, my pain’s ignored.
My udders burning, mastitis sets in,
Pain racks my body, a fight I can’t win.
In barns or in fields, my life’s not my own,
An object to serve desire, stripped to the bone.
My cries echo, on farms far and near,
But do you listen, or turn a deaf ear?
My body drained, my spirit far from home,
A life of endless toil, forever alone.
Now I’m so wasted, broken and spent,
Nothing left to milk, to slaughter I’m sent.
Just five years old, and all used up,
My life’s now over, my time is up.
My life cut short, by human greed,
For milk and cheese, that you don’t need.
Year after year, my cries go unheard,
Unbearable pain, for a theft so absurd.
You’ve taken my babies, their milk, my life,
All that’s left now, is the slaughterhouse knife.
My life’s value, weighed by the hook,
No worth but a burger, after all you took.
You pay for my milk, my blood’s the cost,
With every sip, my life is lost.
Vegetarians speak of mercy, sparing animals’ breath,
But you pay for my suffering, your choice is my death.
You praise your choice, no meat on your plate,
But you drink my milk, sealing my fate.
You’re proud of yourselves, thinking you’ve done enough,
How can you deny, you’ve made my life rough?
Vegetarians, if you really care,
Hear my plea, see the life I bear.
That cheese, that yogurt, that ice cream, that whey,
All are my suffering, day after day.
You’ve taken a step, your heart’s in view,
Why crush my life, when plants will do?
Choose compassion, choose vegan, end this cruel game,
Or know, in your heart, that you are to blame.
- Atom Em, aka Lentil Loafer, grew up eating animals who had names, whom he
raised in his backyard. He's been vegan since 1998, and enjoys practising
face-to-face vegan outreach/advocacy. Facebook. YouTube.