SMALL CREATURES
TIMOTHY OTTE
—for Molly
Her heart is biggest
for small creatures.
She feels their bodies
thrumming quietly
and goes to them,
collecting their joys
and sorrows as her own.
When they die
she feels such pain
I don’t know how she
stands it.
Once, raging, she said,
If we are what we eat
it’s no wonder we’re afraid.
Look at the eyes of pigs
on their way to slaughter.
∘∘∘