Literary Vegan

Two cats on a bed Content An empty tea cup Sighing  I try to slow time Being present But the cats are present Without trying. C. LJ 2019

Though she feels surrounded, Lost in light-scattered haze She steels her heart against the storm, Her mind against the rain  Until the clouds pour flower petals And courage colours her face, Hailed luminous with the rising moon, Reminded she is brave. C. LJ Ireton 2019

I'm not alone. My cat is next to me. And her eyes hold Lion prides, Dragon treasure and Tiger stripes -  The whole animal kingdom Is curled at my feet Choosing me for company.  C. LJ Ireton 2019

I'm lost on land   And breathe in the tide To fill rock pools with light For like calls to like And my stars are the sparks of the Sun,  As they strike  The surface of my water sky - Constellations I can fly to, Surge and shimmer down through Under water the outside combines Without it I thirst -  An island of dust  Isolated by the dry divides. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

Attention Foot after foot and ten thousand arms Unison shouts, sounding drums and alarms We need to do this, to stand up for truth But people are looking at us and not You. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

Solace I sought solace with swans After too much human noise Their shapes on sunlit water Soothed an ache inside my mind. A person, then another  Held out hands to feed a swan But held no food, just photo smiles -  The bird's expectations undone. And just like that, the camera flash  Burnt my bubbling peace Humans tricked the birds So now, again, they troubled me. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

An old man and his dog Sauntered slowly up to me  He pointed at the bird picture I'd wanted him to see Then pointed back down at his dog, Said "He's just like him, like me" And I thought as he walked away Yes, that's it completely. Copyright LJ 2018

Seen For you who suffer behind walls We will be your windows On bricks we'll hold up squares of you Reflections from the shadows  Outside, outside demands you, yet Outside you'll never see We will face outside for you Your faces will be seen. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018 Dedicated to The Humane League UK 

Elsewhere I sit in  Silence But I'm always aware Of the sound of suffering Elsewhere I feel useless I pray for us to Show kindness  To the Smallest In our care. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

Beings They're frightened. Little hearts beat in alarm Little lives form a death drum - One after one after one They drop off the spectrum Of beings who feel Because humans don't feel It's a problem. So the animals fear, Understand, While humans become numb. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

Species In your eyes I see all eyes Held in different shapes Who feel the same As you do Destined for other fates For what reason? There is no reason To distinguish heart from heart To share a home With one Should pardon The whole And not the part. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

Butterfly I peek out of a tiny hole  In my cocoon Wondering how they do it - Like they've never known This blanket of doubt  Or ugly wings. They fly, They inspire Why does it feel like I have to work Harder? I've glimpsed my colours I know they're there. For this time in the dark, I'm going to make them shine So bright they seem effortless. Perhaps that's what the others Are doing. Copyright LJ Ireton 2018

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.

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

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