Who Cares (Poetry)

Written in support of STOP LIVE TRANSPORT
INTERNATIONAL AWARENESS DAY 14th JUNE 2019
Links: Facebook event page: ciwf.org.uk/day-of-action
also: stoplivetransport.org

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The posters show their anxious faces
pressed against cold rows of bars
as though they yearn for open spaces
warmed by sun or lit by stars

Packed in tight these frightened creatures
stand in trucks completely bare
and lacking any thoughtful features —
no hint of kindness anywhere

They’re jolted on that one-way journey
short stops for water and for rest
are few — bewilderment slow-burning
deep in every heaving chest

We judge them dumb with minds unable
to grasp — appreciate their plight
when taken from some field or stable
and all they’ve known is lost to sight

So they endure — denied our pity
like prisoners to death camps sent
while profit feeds the greedy kitty
who cares where our compassion went