My Suffering Was of No Concern
I know which way
I’m meant to go
But the echoes
of screams
fill my ears
and the stench
of blood
engulfs my nostrils
No one
walks that way
intentionally
Metal walls and
an electric prod
ensure
my lack
of alternatives
We’re marched
in a line
one after the next
Fear spreads around us
It's in our cries
It's on our breath
The humans around us,
seemingly oblivious
to our pain,
force us to continue
through the twists
and the turns
towards
the terror
that lies ahead
When I turn
the next corner,
the sight stops me
in my tracks
Endless rows
of bodies hanging
upside down
with blood
gushing out
I struggle,
I writhe
The narrow walls
leave me no chance
to turn around
Frantic steps
backwards
only slam me
into other cows
and continual prods
of electricity
Only five in front,
Now only four
as one more body
falls limp to the floor
The exits are all
blocked from our path
There’s no turning around
There’s no turning back
Hooks hoist the bodies
without sympathy
slowly into the air
Now only three
remain between me and
my unavoidable fate
I know my cries
are of no use
but they pour
regardless
My screams
are the only things
that will escape
today
Two others are
now all that
separate me
from the horror
of the front
of the line
I try to obscure
the shocking sight,
the putrid smells,
the horrifying sounds,
the cold shivers
of reality
that pierce my body
with dreams
of grass and fields
and the distant memory
of my mother
but how can you
conceal from yourself
the reality of the fate
so visibly
terrorizing your eyes
Sympathy,
kindness,
and tenderness
will never again
know my name
The metal cylinder
pierces the head of
the last one
remaining in front,
the last delay
to what lies ahead
for my final breath
But her body
doesn’t fall limp
She squirms
She fights
The life remains
within her
but the cold
metal hooks,
without even a hint
of compassion,
raise her defiant,
rebellious body,
uninterested
in the pain
so visibly
on display
in her glossy eyes
The vision haunts me
more deeply
than anything
this horrifying day
has yet produced
I wish I could tell you
how her desperate
struggle for life ends
but the cold, metal
cylinder approaches
and there is no one
left in front of me
Written November 10, 2018