Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Surely not in our green and pleasant land

I know there is a lot of horror in the news at the moment and this little bit should pale against what else is happening.

All the same, I gasped in disbelief at the news of the 30 cows that were shot by police marksmen in suburbia in full view of children in broad daylight, simply because they had broken out of one field and found refuge in another.

In my mind it's like ordering the execution of a group of toddlers because the ball they are playing with accidentally breaks an already cracked window.

Those who ordered the cull insisted that health and safety along with the welfare of the animals was paramount. They were supposedly traumatised. The poor docile herd were mercilessly gunned down and dragged into trailers as blood trailed and the public watched in horror.

I hope for their sake that tonight's news vindicate them.

I'm not a poet and know little about how verse is constructed. It doesn't rhyme either, but here goes...

Jolly dee the day the deed 
When 30 strong break from their field and follow on to pastures green.

Kindly, calm and trusting too 
On sunlit field to blankly gaze and swish and blink and gently chew.

Curtains pull and children scream as horror grips the bovine crew 
Precisely gunned just where they laid
To help them through the trauma of this reckless escapade.

To this old Englishman such a public spectacle was both unnecessary and offensive if the truth turns out to match what I read.

Bev's comment...Let's hope they don't order the slaughter of the innocents who were genuinely traumatised after being forced to witness such a scene.

My comment on Bev's comment...They'll offer counselling to traumatised schoolchildren, but not to traumatised cows... even an injected sedative got the bullet.


4 comments:

  1. Good grief, I hadn't heard this. No wonder I don't read the papers or watch the news any more. It makes me so angry.

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  2. I saw this on the Internet and was disgusted. 'Health and safety' seems to be a disease in itself at the moment in the UK.

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  3. Such a cruel, cruel deed.

    You must submit your excellent poem to be published at:

    http://poetry-24.blogspot.com/

    (a brand new news-based poetry blog)

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  4. It made me angry too, Jean...which is why a tried to write about it.

    Hi Vera
    I couldn't agree more. It upsets me to think about it.

    Hi Tess
    Wow, praise indeed from a proper poet. I'll check the site out.
    Congrats on your published book of poems...I'm looking forward to owning and reading it.

    ReplyDelete