“sandye”

She looked like any other chicken really
But for some reason she didn’t lay eggs now
The farmer didn’t want her
thought she was a waste of time
Really she seemed useless anyhow

Her physical condition wasn’t very good
Her feathers they were few and far between
When ever they de beaked her it was badly done
And one side of her face was deformed and lean

It may have been from frost bite or an injury
One thing for certain she was awfully shy
Didn’t like to be handled she really got upset
She would flap her wings and more feathers would fly

She seemed to gravitate towards the bedroom
I put a little camp bed there so she
Could lay down on a softish kind of blanket
Out of the draught where she preferred to be

When I tried to pick her up, she was unhappy
Clearly in her past something told me
she’d been picked up rather painfully
And treated rather slovenly
And it would take some time for her to be

Confident despite my empathy towards her
she had been treated badly in the past
For her to be so frightened everything just
Tightened
She just wanted to get away real fast

To me, the factory must have been aggressive
The cage she lived in must have been too small
The workers must have beaten her
For she was quite enlightened
But never came to me when I did call

Again I think too many had not been gentle
They had frightened her and she was nervous too
She used to sunbathe sometimes on a sunny day
Clearly she had been in the dark, too few
days spent in the light it seemed in fact to me
And one day rubbing her head with almond oil
She seemed to really love it
Getting that attention
Really where she sat
She seemed so loyal

And so she nestled deeper
Head down eyes closed and she
Wanted for a moment to just be here with me
Bonding very beautifully she seemed to like why I
Was doing it to soften and give her a high

There are Billions of these birds in the world
Now every year
And everyone is different an old soul
Who would fear
Any sound imaginable or the very raucous kind
Everyone is a chicken with an individuals mind

keeping Sandye with me in the house taught me a lot
She was very clean and confident and sat on the same spot
A creature of habit and comfort so to say
She was a special friend to me in her sweet
chicken way

When we cage souls inside batteries hour on hour
We see
Them curl up and die inside of themselves
For thats not where they should be

We need to share our freedom
Let them walk about
Let them peck at this and that
And not be in any doubt

Prove to them we love them
Be kind to them each day
Let them feel our honest love
And not be made to pay

Not a single moment
Should their lives be put to pain
For every single life thats lived
Has so much to gain

From love from care from sharing
What is freely there
The spirit and emotion
Which is singly now rare