Battery Bars

• Stella Smallman, Grade 7
• Poetry
• 2010

Inside a tiny cage, I peck at rusty steel,
The world is dark and painful; my wounds will never heal,
All five of us crammed in, it’s so hard to survive,
Carcasses of chickens, who couldn’t stay alive,
Cages above me, cages below, and my feathers stained with red,
Sounds of desperate screeching, echoes in my head,
My bones, they are so brittle, my body feels so weak,
Gloved hands, they came and grabbed me, and chopped off half my beak,
I poke my neck through the bars; begging eyes stare back at me,
Bleeding, crying, full of terror, we all want to be free,
Every day, it hurts more; I wish that I could fight,
This is all I really know; I’ve never seen daylight,
It’s so much agony, for I have feelings too,
The pain is gnawing at my soul, what did I do to you?
Been here since I was born, it’s just so hard to cope,
But you humans are so heartless; I should just give up hope.