Once upon a time,

There was a little chicken,

Who thought life was sublime,

Till with fear he was stricken

 

He asked his mother,

“Where are you going?”

“Why are you leaving?”

“Where are my brothers and sisters?”

 

His mother said,

“A child like you shouldn’t know,

Where creatures like us go.

Soon enough you’ll know”.

 

A few days went by,

The little chicken cried.

Little did he know,

To the butcher house he’d go.

 

Driven in a crate,

With many others like him,

His life ruled by his fate;

We humans do sin.

 

 Without his knowledge,

 The chicken and others like him;

Were dropped into a crate

That felt as small as a tin.

 

Sorted by their gender,

 The males put onto a conveyor belt.

 The little chicken saw the grave phenomenon.

 A gruesome sight; it was hell.

 

His life was as lasting as the speed of the belt,

 For he was to be shredded when he reached his end.

 Macerators to the right,

 Macerators to the left.

What should he do?

 He needed help.

 

Before him, he saw:  

Chickens go in,

 Corpses come out.

And feathers get plucked in the machine,

Like petals on a living flower.

 

But through all this,

 Was a little girl.

 As if she was sent from heaven;

 She was his life’s pearl.

 

 She had eyes as brown as chocolate,

 And hair as black as coal.

 Tears welled in her eyes;

 Tears that felt cold.

 

 As the tears unfurled,

 Her heart felt hurled.

Being a worker's daughter,

This phenomenon was a discovery for her.

 What had been happening here

All these years?

 

With footsteps filled with anger,

 She inched toward the crate;

 Held it in her arms,

And saved the creatures’ fates.