Throwback: Vultures

File under “Sometimes I get mad.” I wrote this last year as an indictment against systemic racism, from incarceration to economic opportunity, set in a reimagined world of non-human animals. Because what can I say, I watch a lot of Disney.

VULTURES

Scavengers caught in cages

Different stages of difficult phases

Fangs filed, claws clipped

To the bone, wings snipped.

Ribs press against skin

As spectators stare in

At beasts who never stood a chance

And never stand a chance again.

Fresh apples in dead mouths

Fresh blood, draining down

Decaying flesh, begging hand unfurled.

When did vultures get to rule the world?

Gold glints in their eyes

Black velvet circling the skies

Safe from the kill, prey the predator’s own.

When did vultures get to rule the world?

Beasts of work, beasts of burden

Unburdened by strain of security

Best to stay low to the ground

Better to maintain the purity.

Hungry eyes, the grass is greener

Where it isn’t needed.

What’s a hare to do

With something to care for, my dear?

Just another bit of roadkill.

No one’s crying, my dear.

Carrion desiccation

Unrepentant desecration

Each poor dying soul strung like a pearl.

When did vultures get to rule the world?

Everything collapses

And dignity lapses

There’s always dissatisfaction

For them to feast upon

A battered, bloody violent reaction

For them to feast upon

As though it doesn’t matter

Which beast they feast upon.

And the predators know

To leave a generous share.

Let the thoroughfare war

Over whether it’s fair.

There’s always more dead to go around.

Always something to blame farther down on the ground.

When did vultures get to rule the world?

When did vultures get to rule the world?