They really are a scary lot
Poetry By John Cannon From All-Creatures Animal Rights and Inspirational Poetry Archive

They really are a scary lot
who love the bows and guns and shot,
unnerving when you crawl inside
to see the demons that reside
behind the bland and passive stares
of those who kill the deer and bears;

They fool you with their easy ways,
it’s hard to see the hate ablaze
back there in low parts of the brain
where sadists thrive on others’ pain;
they’re like the KKK in that:
a slick veneer of friendly chat;

But like the Count of Transylvania
it’s hard to cover up their mania
because the blood-lust throbs in there
and sends a pulse out in the air
that warns of hate to be turned loose
on any mammal, duck or goose;

They’re young and old, poor and rich,
urban, rural, white and black,
but each one has a basic glitch,
a core-deep fundamental lack
of care for life and moral sense,
instead they hold a rage intense;

It’s horrible, the drive to kill,
but it is not the basest sin,
it’s the need to spread their vile evil
by teaching it to their young kin;

And thus the madness does get passed
to a new generation from the last,
so only as the young break free
will scales tip more toward sanity;

The hope lies in the young who find
that killing from a stand or blind
begins to feel a bit obscene,
demeans them as a human being,
makes them seek a better way
to enjoy Nature’s grand display.