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For Mother's Day

Did you know my mother? 

I’m told her name was Belle. 

I don’t know what she looked like 

but have memories of her smell.

Did you ever hear my mother? 

Did her cries pull at your heart? 

I remember them quite clearly 

when the men pulled us apart.

Did you drink from my mother? 

Did you ever taste her milk? 

Did you feel her face against yours?

Was her skin as soft as silk?

I’ve been told I had two brothers 

and my sisters numbered four 

then my mother went to slaughter

of no value anymore.

Were you there with my mother? 

Did you look into her eyes? 

Did you see the fear within them?

Did you listen to her cries?

And now my end is coming 

I am waiting with my friends

we are huddled close together 

in this place where life ends.

Will you be there at our slaughter

for the flesh you want to eat? 

Will you ever think about us 

when you buy that piece of meat?

It’s my turn now, I’m moving. 

I am going to my end. 

I am urged with shouts and kicking 

and with sticks that never bend.

I am thinking of my mother 

and remembering her smell

and I know we’ll meet in heaven 

and forget this life in Hell. 

A Poem by Mary Lynn

Photo by Jo-Anne McArthur, The Hidden Lives Of Dairy Cows, An Untold Story of Dairy Production 

Info: 

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• Η σκοτεινή αλήθεια της γαλακτοβιομηχανίας: ethosandempathy
• Αγελάδες γαλακτοπαραγωγής: 269lifegreece 

Γιορτή της μητέρας 

Milk comes from a grieving mother 

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