Heidi StephensonChinese Moon Bear
By Heidi Stephenson
An Animal Rights Poem from All-Creatures.org

Poems of compassion dedicated to the non-human animals who share this planet with us and the people who fight for them.


 

 

Chinese Moon Bear
By Heidi Stephenson

You stare out at me from the darkness
Of your man-made hell
Your trust in humans long gone
The stench of discomfort, a barrier between us
Our gaze meets, in devastating silence
A being, just like I am
Seeing, feeling, remembering...
 
You had dreams once
Knew a mother’s love
The joy of playful siblings
Smelt fresh dew on forest floor
Watched the early sunlight dapple trees
Felt its warm caress
A young bear, born as free as the wind
 
 Your mind is numb now
From all the chronic pain
The cruel indifference
As they go about their daily tortures
Milking you for all you are worth
For markets that don’t need your bile
In this day of alternatives

 A never-ending robbery
The criminals on the outside
Of these rusting, rotting bars
No kindness here, no mercy here at all
Crushed down inside your prison-cage
Sharp metal biting ribs, head, skin
Dull groan of stunted limbs that cannot stretch
 
 You long only for death now
For release from this two decade sentence
Which only your innocence brought you
Trapped as a helpless cub
Your mother killed in the fight for you
That terrible moment frozen
One day, my friend, there’ll be another kind of justice.

© Heidi Stephenson, March 2014


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