aka the weird mom who talks to factory chickens while home alone all day...
Oh Grocery Store Chicken,
I'm sorry.
Many times I've passed you by
in favor of your more pampered farm friends
the economy
and here you are before me on my counter
What to do?
Here is my promise
You will be respected in death
as you should have been in life
First night you gave us roast chicken
the next you graced my garden salad
today, we stock!
Sadly you were raised to sport Hollywood fake breasts
puny legs
no matter...
All of you will be cherished today!
In the pot you go
to socialize with vegetables
the ones you were deprived of in life
If you had been mine...
oh, you would still have not died of old age!
But while you lived you would have had sunshine
bugs
weeds
vegetables
dirt
children laughing at you
maybe a knitted ascot
chicken friends
I will give you now what you didn't have in life
respect
thank you little chicken,
the house smells good today!
Soup's On!
Go ahead. Declare me certifiable. Your "Ode to a Chicken" brought tears to my eyes. I have no doubt that one day you will definitely be involved with and eating humanely raised meat. We've all gotta do our part to see that more animals experience the life you so eloquently (albeit with tongue in cheek) wrote about. You are somethin' else!! :o) (How can one be teary and have a big grin on one's face at the same time?)
ReplyDeleteErin, you are the best. I especially loved the promise of a little knitted ascot. Poor dear. Better respect in the afterlife, than no respect at all. I will know who to call when my girls are trying to communicate with me and I'm not gettin' it. Which is always.
ReplyDeleteSomeday...you will have your own little chickens to sing to! And eat!
ReplyDeleteLocal, humanely raised chicken is hard to find. Beef and pork seem much more available.......which is why we eat so much beef. (Though I am slowly evolving into a vegetarian which is worisome being my part of the cow comes in a couple of weeks. I have lost the 'taste' for meat 9 times out of 10. Oddly, the thing that still makes me drool is bacon. See, you aren't the only weird one.)
ReplyDeleteYou're a funny girl! But, I must confess I cried a few tears over my husband's deer this year, and thanked him too! He was so beautiful! I'm glad he got to live his (8?) years in the woods, and was chasing an attractive doe when his end came!
ReplyDeleteYou're too much!! But, it's the truth!
ReplyDeleteWell said, oh, fellow "normal" person! We were talking about hunting at our house a few days ago... I told the children I don't have a problem with people who hunt, as long as they respect the animal enough to eat it. Respect. I think that's the key. Do we respect our food and where it came from. Both the animals and the earth that gives us veggies.
ReplyDeleteOh, and I LOVE the idea of the knitted ascot. Too perfect!
Judy
You simply MUST raise chickens.I can see it now-- Erins Pampered Poultry. I do believe we've found your true calling!! And it would also give you more knitting projects!
ReplyDelete:D
Mama Pea, isn't that the truth? Years ago, I probably would have tossed the remnants of the bird since while sick I wasn't able to get to the leftovers... instead I threw it in the freezer and dealt with it today - such a shame when their lives are for nothing. Age and wisdom bring understanding and sometimes tears AND grins!
ReplyDeleteSusan, HA! More likely the recipient of the knitted ascot probably WOULD be the one to die of old age LOL
APG, I can't wait!
Kelly, around here I can get it, but it is insanely expensive - way more comparatively than I pay for humanely raised beef and pork. Veg would never be an option for me, but I try to do what I can with what we have. Most times we compromise by eating less of a meat if cost or method of raising is an issue, but there are times when a girls gotta do what a girls gotta do! (I had a buy one get one coupon for our military commissary!) BTW, in the organic freezer there, there was a package of chicken breasts for 14.99.... for only 2!!
Patty, I just saw his deer, fantastic! Lived a wild happy life right in your own area and then went on to be cherished for feeding a family for a year, I'm sure a few tears were shed, but he is certainly appreciated I'm sure!
Robin, ha! I told the kids when they got home "hey, I wrote a poem about a chicken" .... they both looked at me and rolled their eyes... :)
Judy, exactly! I think we are instilling this in our kids too, it will serve them well in the future.
ReplyDeleteSue... knitted shingle covers for the coop... don't get me started....yarn bombing the chicken yard... have you seen those guys? pretty funny stuff!
A chicken poem! You're so far cooler than I could ever be. I wrote one to a cockroach once. I don't think my teacher was as impressed as I was.
ReplyDeleteSo funny. I made stock today too! But I didn't write a poem to the chicken. Now I feel bad...
ReplyDeleteIt must be stock-making season! I love your poem to chickens. Although I think that ascot would have been pecked to pieces by the end of a day! I've heard of chicken coats, though, to prevent feather-plucking and claw damage (from those pesty randy roosters), so why not an ascot? I see the future -- Erin's Poultry Spa, each chicken gets its own knitted wardrobe and poetry. Can your boys do the manicures? :)
ReplyDeleteThat was the best eulogy I've ever heard for a chicken. You've done us proud. Now let's eat!!!!
ReplyDeleteGreat post! Funny (way funny actually)
ReplyDeleteAnd yet filled with truth. I wonder when the concept and practice of 'respect for the food' (alive) and 'thanks to the food' (when not) was lost completely? Little by little there are a handful of us making our way 'home' to the old ways. Maybe your ode could be the anthem :-)
PS I can see it now, ascots to wear, little red wagons to take them for walks/outings (hey when I have my chickens I'll be tempted to do those sorts of things)!
PSS :) any beer or wine in that soup? :-)
I love it! I admit, i feel much the same way - I can't afford the meat I would rather be eating. I end up feeling guilty every time I buy regular chicken at the supermarket. At least my On Purpose chicken stock is in better shape - a few months ago I bought 40lbs of organic chicken necks! I still have about 12 lbs left :)
ReplyDeleteHa! Yep, I'm wierd... and Ribbit is too! LOL, don't deny it, Gran and the others will back me up, right?! :) Ah, taking the day off blogging today and tomorrow I think... I've got my sewing machine out and ready to start in the a.m.! Maybe another poem in the making - or more like a limerick!
ReplyDeleteNow that's funny! You are getting a little stir crazy over there aren't ya? :)
ReplyDeleteI like the poem. Chicken soup is looking good!
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