This poem is dedicated to Joshua Rockwood, an honest and conscientious farmer and animal lover in Glenville, N.Y., and to the horses and dogs taken from him by the new animal police. You can read his story on his blog here and also another account here, I would rather he tell this story than me. Rockwood understands the true meaning of transparency.

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First, they came for the carriage horses,

then the elephants in the circus,

and the ponies in the farmer’s markets,

and the chickens in their coops,

and the border collies with their sheep,

and the horses in the movies,

and the sled dogs on their paths,

and the homeless man with his dog,

and farmer with his pigs,

and the dogs with no tall fences,

and the people riding horses,

and the cows in the snow and rain,

and then,

they came for the seeing eye dogs,

and the therapy dogs,

and the dogs who sniff for bombs,

and the dogs who track the lost,

and then, they came for

the farmer whose water bowls

froze on a bitter night,

and who didn’t trim his horses

hooves in time,  and took his

dogs and horses away, while he cried,

even thought he loved them

and cared for them well.

When they came for the horses,

we looked away,

they were not our dogs,

not our elephants,

not our ponies,

not our horses,

not our pigs,

not our chickens,

And then, one day,

the family farmers were gone,

all the food in the hands

of the giant farms,

where the feet of animals

never touched the ground,

their souls never warmed by the sun.

The working animals of the world,

who had worked with humans since

the beginning of recorded time were gone,

there were only the furbabies and pets,

who lived on couches and

slept on beds, and walked on leashes,

and went to the vets, and

never worked with people.

They had already come for you,

and for the animals you loved.

___

For a better understanding of animals and animal rights, please consider joining the herd at Blue-Star Equiculture. For the love of animals and the people who love and live with them.