Poems

POEMS ABOUT LOSS

III :  The Lament of the Milk-Fed Veal Calf *

Veal calf, veal calf, what do you see?

I see my mother being taken from me.

Veal calf, veal calf, what do you hear?

I hear my mother cry out in fear.

Veal calf, veal calf, what do you feel?

I feel around me a cage of steel!

Veal calf, veal calf, what do you smell?

The wastes of other calves and mine as well.

Veal calf, veal calf, what do you taste?

The only food I’m given is a milky thin paste.

Veal calf, veal calf, why don’t you move far?

I’m chained by the neck to a wooden bar.

Veal calf, veal calf, how do you feel?

I feel so sick without a decent meal.

Veal calf, veal calf, why do you shake?

I’ve had no exercise, my bones might break.

Veal calf, veal calf, of what do you dream?

Of sunlight and green grass beside a cool stream.

Veal calf, veal calf, what do you see?

I see the slaughter truck coming for me.

     * Although there have been some improvements over the past thirty years in how veal

     calves are raised and treated, about half are still housed in crates in severe confinement,

     taken from their mothers at an early age and fed a diet designed to make them anemic,

     so that their flesh will be pale and soft.

National Veal Boycott2.jpg