Life Is Precious To Us All
By Matthew DeLuca
An Animal Rights Poem from All-Creatures.org

Life Is Precious To Us All
By Matthew DeLuca

My name is Thomas, and I have a story to tell
Sadly, it's not a happy one, as I tell this story from my cold, damp prison cell

I am sitting here, on death row, although I have not committed any crimes
I am forced to sit in this awful place, to nevertheless do the time

I look at everyone around me, and I see fear in their faces
Fear of the mean men who walk by and mock us and force us to retreat even further back into these already confined spaces

I am in a place that is known as a death camp
A place where they kill so freely, to them it's the equivalent of licking a stamp

They couldn't care less about us here, to them we are "things"
If you could see the cruelty, the death that happens here, it would tug heavily on your heartstrings

The other day a nice family came in here, and when they saw what goes on
They mentioned a German dictator, a Nazi killer, who is now gone

They called him "Hitler", and he operated death camps, until a new day dawned
Until those who believed in love and compassion fought him and made sure that he was gone

We sit here waiting, waiting, waiting, for that time to come
When those who believe in love and compassion will rescue us...will they ever come?

Or are we doomed to die here, with no hope of getting out safe and alive
Please come save us, and please don't take too long to arrive

We dont have much time, with the passing of every minute, our chances of surviving decreases
They have played judge, and jury over our lives, their arrogance never ceases

And they are preparing to play executioner, and at any moment, we will hear their footsteps walking down the hall
As we pray and hope that they don't stop at our cell, and yell out their lethal call

"Give me a hand, this one looks scared" they say
"Let's get this over with, I want to get off of work and go home to play"

"The big football game is tonight and I dont want to be late"
If only, if only they could be late, it may bode well for the sake of our fate

Maybe it will give the heroes time to come and save the day
Maybe they will save us, and make the murderers go away

What about us? Don't we deserve to play? Don't we deserve to live?
Dont we deserve to be loved, and give this unconditional love that we have to give?

Yes, we do...yes we deserve to live, yes we want to live, please, let us live
Don't let these murderers take our lives away. Like them, we equally deserve to live

We want to live, We want to love, We want to be loved, and We want to enjoy
All that life offers to other good girls and boys

We want to eat a delicious meal, we want to relax, we want to play the game
The game of life, a game that nobody wants to be taken out of because the murderers came

And decided that we weren't worthy of living, and while we're on the subject, we must ask
Who made the killers "God"....who allowed them to take part in their lethal tasks?

Who are they to tell us whether we deserve to live, or not?
Would they allow others to decide THEIR fate, and decide whether to kill THEM or not?

Somehow we don't think so. And doesn't that make them hypocrites?
For doing to others what they would never want done to them, if they sat where we now sit?

Can someone be so lost, that they can arbitrarily kill their fellow living souls?
Can they live with themselves for deciding for whom the deadly bell tolls?

Yes. Sadly, these lost souls do this everyday, and they find excuses why they should kill us instead of saving us
When God gave out love, compassion and a reverence for life, these killers missed the enlightenment bus

They do not care for us.... if they did they wouldn't murder us, they would love us and that is all
They would not inject us with poison, or wait while we struggle in the gas chamber, trying not to fall

For once you fall in the gas chamber it is too late
Your physical life is over, sealed, has been your fate

When we die, they simply add us the "pile", we have no face and no name, what a shame
To see my friends treated so bad, thrown away, as if they are mere pawns in a simple game

It has to stop, it cant be allowed to continue any longer
The heroes have to come...they'll win, because their love makes them stronger

Stronger than the cowards who kill us as if they are throwing away an old, used pair of shoes
We are so afraid, we don't know what to do, we have got the blues

The heroes aren't coming to save us, are they?
A society who's heroes do nothing to stop the murderers, is a society that will inevitably decay

For who will stop the killers, if not those who believe in love and life?
If not those who oppose killing, whether by needle, gun, gas or knife?

Killing is killing, regardless of what kind of lethal weapon has been used
Killing a healthy living soul, in any form should not be excused

Wait...what is that noise? Is this our time to be murdered? What should we do?
No...no, it's the heroes...they have come after all.....We've been adopted!!! It's true!

The heroes run a shelter, and a shelter is only a shelter if it is no-kill
And any death camp can become a shelter, if those who run them only had the will

For where there's a will, there's a way.....
To let us live, love, be happy and play

As we enjoy life, no longer in fear of being killed, we are safe and sound
No more death camps, otherwise known as kill "shelters", and pounds

Today, we will stand tall. There is no gas chamber here
There is no death needle to use to assassinate us, while our assassins don't even care enough to shed a tear

There is, in our new home, only compassion, only respect, only love
It's a miracle, from high up above

Our dream has come true: we are loved, we are loved!
We are free to live and love, we feel like it's Christmas, and we're happy turtle doves

Someone cared enough for us, to save us
We are no longer a prisoner of speciesism, We are now respected, dignified, and free to be us

We're free to live life, my friends are free to be themselves, and I'm free to be me
Free to be all that God wanted us to be

If only everyone else in other so called "shelters" can be saved too
Well, actually, they CAN be saved, it's true".

"You're right Thomas", said Thomas' rescuer. "Just like you, they can be saved too
It begins with someone who respects their fellow living souls' right to live, someone like the person reading this, yes, someone like YOU!

Thank you for reading the story of Thomas and his fellow shelter animals, and what a happy one it is, too!
See what a little love and kind consideration can do?

Every living soul is a "story", and they can also have a happy ending, they can also be spared
If enough of us work to get rid of the murderers and replace them with someone who cares

If enough of us care enough to take the time to concern themselves with how companion animals fare
If others are willing to rescue them into a loving environment, where killing is no longer "fair"

If we get rid of the rotten apples and the sour grapes
We all can be heroes, we all can wear Superman's cape

We can all put an end to the Nazi's second reign
This silent holocaust which extinguishes life's precious flame

We defeated the murderous bullies once, we can do it again
It's not a matter of "if", it is a matter of "when?"

Today is a good day for "when?" to happen, don't you agree?
And who wouldnt agree, who would, in their right mind (and heart and soul) support such a travesty?

A travesty like the ones that occur everyday in death camps, disguised as "shelters", which they are not
Where the murder of precious beings is disguised as being "humane" while, if done to us, our killers would go to jail to sit and rot

We have the power to stop the murder, the power to tear down the "humane killing" wall
And smash it into tiny little pieces, exposing the murderers who hide behind the wall, to one and all

We have the power to put "Murder Inc." out of business, you better believe we do
We need only to act, to get it done, to not tolerate any longer, the liars that kill animals, while trying to deceive me and you

The truth is that we can stop the serial killers from killing any more animals, it's easier than you think.
But first, we must stop buying the lies from the wolves in sheep's clothing, and we have to force them to the brink.

And give the ultimatum that says in no uncertain terms:

"Stop the killing now, or your career will be so dead, it will start attracting hungry worms

You will be replaced with a true animal lover, and true animal lovers will not kill healthy animals, and that you can take to the bank
It's time to act like civilized, life revering adults, instead of spoiled brats, who need to be taken over our knee for a hearty spank

If we find out that ONE more healthy animal is murdered, we will see to it that your superiors will get rid of you, you know
And like you never shed a tear for a precious living soul, while sending them to their death, we wont shed a tear when you leave, in fact, we'll be happy to see you go

We'll hold a parade to celebrate your job termination, beware, you're headed for a fall
Because you are part of the problem, not part of the solution, and the person who is part of the solution will be the one who knows that LIFE IS PRECIOUS TO US ALL"