The Friday Poem: A Photograph

“A Photograph”  by Frances Jackson

Like some brave soldier

the old horse stands

riddled with pellets

from cruel boys’ hands

who may regret

or may expand

on what they’ve done.

That sad and bloodied

face, I turn from

I turn too late

imprinted now

and filed in files

with other photographs

too numerous

to contemplate.

Here is commentary by Patch poetry maestro Jeff Burkhart.  Readers should take a moment to view a picture of the tortured horse that inspired this poem.

Dear readers, come with Frances Jackson and me on a journey of discovery. We will travel into the heart of evil itself as we contemplate the kind of mind that would perpetrate harm on an innocent animal, domestic or otherwise. This heartbreaking image of a horse that has been tortured by cruel young people stirs outrage in all right-minded people that see it. As uncomfortable as our viewing of this outrage is, hopefully it will inspire kind people everywhere to do what they can to further the cause of animal rights. There is an honesty and nobility in all of God's creatures. The arrogance of any human that thinks just because we have opposing thumbs and the ability to speak, that we are any better than any other species, is wrong on its face. Human beings are “Johnny come lately’s” in Earth's grand evolutionary scheme. These animals were here long before us and will probably be here long after we have run our course.

Jeff Burkhart

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