One of the best poems ever?

Living Graves
By George Bernard Shaw
(1856-1950)

We are the living graves of murdered beasts,
Slaughtered to satisfy our appetites.
We never pause to wonder at our feasts,
If animals, like men, can possibly have rights.
We pray on Sundays that we may have light,
To guide our footsteps on the path we tread.
We're sick of war, we do not want to fight -
The thought of it now fills our hearts with dread,
And yet - we gorge ourselves upon the dead.

Like carrion crows we live and feed on meat,
Regardless of the suffering and the pain
we cause by doing so, if thus we treat
defenceless animals for sport or gain,
how can we hope in this world to attain,
the PEACE we say we are so anxious for.
We pray for it o'er hecatombs of slain,
to God, while outraging the moral law,
thus cruelty begets its offspring - WAR.

That is definitely a great poem! It embodies the truth in such a perfect way.

One of the poems I really like is this one written from the animals' point of view (not sure who the true author is):

I will never see the sun rise, I will never see it set,
I will never feel a kind touch, I will never be a pet,
I will never feel love, For I will not be loved,
As I’m led to my murder, Being prodded, poked and shoved.

As they cut my tender skin, I wondered who would care,
If anybody out there, Would consider my despair.

For you did not see me die, And you did not see me bleed,
You did not hear me cry, For the meat that you don’t need.

You did not watch them kill me, You could not feel my pain,
You will try not to think of me,As you blindly eat again.

I was the cow you ate on Monday, The pig you had midweek,
I was the turkey for your Christmas, I was the calf you liked to eat.

I was the chicken in your sandwich, The duck you had for tea,
I felt pain beyond belief, But you never thought of me.

Because thinking can be painful, And you refuse to see,
That for every time you eat meat, Those animals must bleed.

The cow was killed for Monday, The pig was scolded too,
The turkey lived for 16 weeks, And the calf had died for you.

The chicken lived inside a cage, The duck could hardly move,
And all of this suffering, Occurred for so called food.

I fail to see a reason, As there is no need,
When humans eat my meat, It is purely for their greed.

You may think you’re above me, That you have advantage,
But a kind, innocent creature, Is better than a savage.

So next time you’re out shopping, Try to feel some guilt,
For those animals have died, For your eggs, your meat and milk.

My heroes are those people, Who will not bite into me,
So I ask a simple favour, And please stop eating meat.

I’m asking for the cows, The pigs and all the sheep,
I’m asking for the birds, Who are more than just some meat.

They can’t speak themselves, So please lets be their voice,
Every one born into this, For them there was no choice.

For you did not see me die, And you did not see me bleed,
You did not hear me cry, For the meat that you don’t need.

Replies

pradtf December 20, 2015 at 9:16am

everything i've read from gbs has always been excellent, robert!

in friendship,

prad
Bluesilvershine December 17, 2015 at 2:43pm

That is definitely a great poem! It embodies the truth in such a perfect way.

One of the poems I really like is this one written from the animals' point of view (not sure who the true author is):

I will never see the sun rise, I will never see it set,
I will never feel a kind touch, I will never be a pet,
I will never feel love, For I will not be loved,
As I’m led to my murder, Being prodded, poked and shoved.

As they cut my tender skin, I wondered who would care,
If anybody out there, Would consider my despair.

For you did not see me die, And you did not see me bleed,
You did not hear me cry, For the meat that you don’t need.

You did not watch them kill me, You could not feel my pain,
You will try not to think of me,As you blindly eat again.

I was the cow you ate on Monday, The pig you had midweek,
I was the turkey for your Christmas, I was the calf you liked to eat.

I was the chicken in your sandwich, The duck you had for tea,
I felt pain beyond belief, But you never thought of me.

Because thinking can be painful, And you refuse to see,
That for every time you eat meat, Those animals must bleed.

The cow was killed for Monday, The pig was scolded too,
The turkey lived for 16 weeks, And the calf had died for you.

The chicken lived inside a cage, The duck could hardly move,
And all of this suffering, Occurred for so called food.

I fail to see a reason, As there is no need,
When humans eat my meat, It is purely for their greed.

You may think you’re above me, That you have advantage,
But a kind, innocent creature, Is better than a savage.

So next time you’re out shopping, Try to feel some guilt,
For those animals have died, For your eggs, your meat and milk.

My heroes are those people, Who will not bite into me,
So I ask a simple favour, And please stop eating meat.

I’m asking for the cows, The pigs and all the sheep,
I’m asking for the birds, Who are more than just some meat.

They can’t speak themselves, So please lets be their voice,
Every one born into this, For them there was no choice.

For you did not see me die, And you did not see me bleed,
You did not hear me cry, For the meat that you don’t need.
- pradtf > Bluesilvershine December 20, 2015 at 9:15am
  
  very nice bluesilvershine!
  
  greetings and welcome to 30bad - to a fellow borg no less!
  
  in friendship,
  
  prad
- Robert Bowes > Bluesilvershine December 20, 2015 at 7:37am
  
  That is brilliant, I will share this poem far and wide. There a a number of reasons to go vegan, but to me this epitomises the main one. Thank you.

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