A Lost Loved One (submitted by Candi Phillips)
There's something missing in my home,
I feel it day and night,
I know it will take time and strength
Before things feel quite right
But just for now, I need to mourn,
My heart - it needs to mend.
Though some may say it's "just a pet"
I know I've lost a friend.
You've brought such laughter to my home,
And richness to my days ...
A constant friend through joy or loss,
With gentle, loving ways.
Companion, pal, and confidante,
A friend I won't forget,
You'll live for always in my heart,
My sweet, forever pet ...
Author Unknown
Running
More poetry
from “More Poetry of Guila Manchester” submitted by Candi Phillips
I wish I knew it wasn’t real
That little calves turn into veal.
I wish that bulls could find relief
From always ending up as beef.
I wish that cows could eat and moo
And not be pieces in a stew.
I wish that goats could play and bleat
And not turn into hunks of meat.
I wish that chickens just laid eggs
Instead of being thighs and legs.
I wish that ducks could simply quack
And not be used to make a snack.
I wish that geese could honk and hiss
And butcher’s blocks forever miss.
I wish that turkeys, fat or thinner,
Did not end up as someone’s dinner.
I wish that sheep could just make wool
And not make someone’s tummy full.
I wish that lambs could run and play
And not end on a grocer’s tray.
I wish that horses never knew
The things they use in making glue.
I wish that pigs could live and mate
And not be pork chops on a plate.
But since all people have to eat
And some, at least, require meat,
And ask for help from each of you
That while they live, their lives be free
From every form of cruelty.
And death be quick and clean and sure
And pain the least that they endure.
For every creature born to live
Deserves the joy that life can give.
And when the time for death draws near
Deserves to die with little fear.
(February 1976)
Better yet, try to avoid eating “meat” altogether!
PARTING THOUGHTS
by Candi Phillips
A recent visit to my mother’s doctor gave me ample time to read the glossy magazines in the waiting room. In the May/June 2003 Metropolitan Homes magazine, I found a wonderful quote. The “Design 100” list contained a photograph of two zebras with the following copy, “Only appropriate use for wild-animal skin – worn by the animal that grew it. Get it?” Bravo, Metropolitan Homes!