Smile, Indiana
By Heather Leughmyer
An Animal Rights Poem from All-Creatures.org

Smile, Indiana
By Heather Leughmyer

On a country road you sit alone,
Confused by passing cars.
Ears notched, tail cropped, someone’s property,
Yet somehow, here you are.

Born into an industry
that sells you off for parts,
You must have seen the darkness-
Humans without hearts.

Did you sense your mother’s sorrow
Before this fateful day?
Did you look into her desperate eyes
As you were ripped away?

Did you see her tiny prison?
The boredom she endured?
Did depression overwhelm you
With every cry you heard?

You sit outside the shadows now,
But what about the others?
Where are your suffering sisters?
Where are your brutalized brothers?

You’re just one among billions,
Your life somehow spared-
Now you’re given a chance
To find humans who care.

A lost little miracle,
You have so much to teach-
So many minds to change.
So many hearts to reach.

You’re special, Indiana,
And now you’re on your way
To a place you only dreamed about
To live out all your days.

Your worried face grows more relaxed
And with every passing mile
Your pain and fear begin to fade
And I think I see a smile…
Smile, Indiana, smile.