The Death Cries of Dairy

“Alternative milks

are killing our

dairy farms”

The headline

an ironic cry

for mercy

from an industry

whose cows 

receive none

A cashew

is not impregnated

when we want 

milk to flow

Almond mothers 

never bellow

when their babies

are dragged away

Baby coconuts

are never deprived

of iron and mobility

to tenderize their flesh

We don’t cover

our children’s eyes

when soybeans meet

the sharpened blades

The slaughterhouse

isn’t lined with

the bodies of oats

whose milk 

had slowed

Your dairy farms 

are dying because

we realized the cows 

don’t need to

written February 21, 2020