Literary Vegan

New Year's Eve I won't wait for the Midnight turn My Christmas candle still burns And the cats tuck their heads in to curl Into shapes of sleep framed by fur. This is the moment I take Into next year of noise and mistakes These halycon minutes, now made By creatures, contented and safe. I am one of them too So I pray with silent gratitude The night crowds will shout loudly soon But my candle lights up the whole room.   Copyright LJ Ireton 2017.

Hatchlings They do no wrong. They hatch, they cheep And start to look around At scattered egg shells And matching eyes, set In hatchling soft, soft, down That we replicate as fluffy toys And put their image on sale As they are killed and thrown as trash Because they were born male.  Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

Copyright LJ Ireton 2017

Watching  Watching  Sea creatures Of the deep on TV In awe of their complexity They build a community These tiny fish  Coloured with intellect Yet humanity's disconnect Puts them on plates Eating The stills of reality. Copyright LJ 2017

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         Man-made shooting stars     Bend their sparkling willow leaves      Bow before the Moon                        Copyright LJ 2017

Milk Get up little one I've licked you clean You can stand now Stand by me. Your eyes are mine My milk is yours Take shelter Under me. I call to you Because the men They take you Stay with me And on my own All I know then Is the space where You should be.   Copyright LJ 2017

OCD (3) You stare Your eyes say done Your brain says not  So you stay From the fear that you failed You must undo the knot  In your brain To breathe easy You repeat And repeat  And you do it again. Copyright LJ 2017

Life   If we saw life as children do, Light would let the spectrum through We’d find surprise in tiny things – Flower petals or fairy wings? Sand would become sparkle dust, Forest dwellings wanderlust. We’d seek the unicorns in the trees And feel their magic in the breeze – See all the animals as miracles too, Offer them tea cups, as children do. Copyright LJ 2017 From Eden

The World is a Cat The world is a cat – Her belly, the ocean The land marks her back – A forest in motion The waves of the moon Are found in her eyes, The stripes of the trees Run down her side In one perfect jump, Fierce and softness collide Yes, the world is a cat – Fire and water, combined. Copyright LJ 2017

My Ark There need be no flood,   No water around   For me to build my ark. There is danger enough On the expanse of our ground For me to make a start. No spears, no knives, no guns No greed Will come aboard this ship. All kinds of kind Will sit inside While man’s cruel reign still drips. Copyright LJ 2017    From The Gold Leaf

Rain Lines form at the windows, making the room a prison. The water distorts our view of the trees  Who are drinking,  Freely outside. Confined we find our imagination While Nature pours hers from the clouds Who are feeding Minds and fields alike. (From the Eden collection) Copyright LJ 2017

Time Distract myself, I must Distract – To keep The train of time On track – For thoughts of you Make all time Stop – Which keeps me from Where you are Not – I'd push you  Far  From my own mind, To keep you  Close  To me in time. (From the Eden collection) Copyright LJ 2017

Wild We live inside, you and I But you are wild. Eyes like planets filled with fire, Fur that's lined with stripes of tigers. We live inside, you and I I look around; Man-made walls of brick and plaster, Stuck behind a barren flower. We live inside, you and I But I am tame - Because you bring the outside in  And your wild keeps me sane. (From the Eden collection) Copyright LJ 2017

The Ghost that Plays the Keys I prey upon your silence Said The Ghost that Plays the Keys Icicles where fingers were Ride on a phantom breeze Of melody, heard long ago Heard now, but somewhere else Like inky smoke through memories Left on a cavern shelf. Each pause, each breath is music Still, as each echo believes Mist can still be magic Said The Ghost that plays the keys. Copyright 2017 LJ