‘We walked with animals’: a poem for all life

Do we see?

Before the world drifts into sleep,
I watch the Earth cry – her sorrow deep.
Machines hum on as humans move blind;
Do we consider the suffering we leave behind?

I hug my grandma, tracing the past –
From ape to human, shadows cast.
We walked with animals, side by side;
Now greed and cruelty serve as guide.

Fire once warmed, not burned in greed,
Feeding flesh, ignoring need.
Skin to bone in cages tight,
Mass production turns life to meat, out of sight.

I’m not forcing views, not casting blame,
But do we see their suffering, or treat life the same?
Do we notice the fear within their eyes,
Or only count the cost, the pounds, the prize?

Pigs in crates who cannot turn,
Their muffled cries left to burn.
Forests, oceans, skies at stake –
Yet still we sleep, still we take.

Chickens lined in battery rows,
Beaks cut short, wings unable to close.
Salmon penned in blood-red rings,
Doomed to swim until death’s sting.

Bodies bred for profit’s scale –
Crippled hearts, legs destined to fail.
Tails docked, teeth clipped away,
And still we say: “this is the way.”

Lagoons of waste seep into streams,
Killing fish, unravelling dreams.
Antibiotics mask disease –
We soothe ourselves with small appease.

Forests fall for corn and soy,
Wildlife lost, stolen joy.
Oceans choke on plastic blight,
Reefs fade beneath a toxic light.

Mother Earth whispers, “I can’t breathe.”
Her trembling storms will not deceive.
Volcanoes rumble, seasons twist –
Do we notice what we’ve missed?

We package death and call it a meal,
Hiding the cost we refuse to feel.
Birds and pigs and fish confined –
Do we reflect on lives assigned?

Wake, humanity – open your eyes.
Hear the world, hear its cries.
Break the greed, the slaughter, the lies,
Before the Earth itself dies.

I’m not forcing opinions, not forcing view,
But ask yourself – what would compassion do?
Do we honour the life in every breath,
Or keep marching towards profit, towards silent

death?

I wrote this poem because studying animal law during my degree made me deeply aware of animal suffering, which saddened me. My connection with my dog Harry, who was with me for 17 years and passed in December 2024, inspired me to reflect on compassion, loss, and humanity’s responsibility to animals.

Nicole Fletcher

Vegan Poetry uses creative writing to develop new ways of communicating about (and with) our fellow living beings. We are a community project, a creative outlet for compassion and a small cry of resistance in an uncaring system. Get involved: [email protected]

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