by Alice Bruckenstein
It can't be true
that fields of shimmering ice in spring
explode with life so tender and innocent that silence is its only prayer
I can't be true
that cold and remote as heaven
but unprotected here on Earth
a soulless paradise is streaked in blood
as if from open faults
It can't be true
that trusting eyes
are distorted with pain and disbelief
in spirits too new to crawl or swim away
It can't be true
that skulls are bludgeoned
eye sockets hooked
and skins are ripped like sheaves from writhing bodies
choking with blood
in the morning sun
It can't be true
they have to die
in agony
But it is true
Alice Bruckenstein’s articles have appeared on the websites of various animal rights organizations, including The Wild for Life Foundation, Compassionate Animal TV and Animal Liberation Front, as well as in the online newsletter Dissident Voice. She also wrote the words and music for "Song for Canada’s Harp Seals" (accessible as Censored Seal Song Reloaded), which can be heard above and on YouTube.
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