Butterfly NEW
By Nadine Mondrae, age 13
"Light at the end of tunnels | Glowing in my eyes | Butterfly landing on my bare shoulder | Tickling my ear with its wings | And I remember | You were once a caterpillar too.."

The Vegetarian
By Tim Wilfong, age 16
"My toes become icicles | and break off, one by one | followed by my feet | and the rest of my body | piece by piece bit at a time | I slowly become a pile on the floor..."

Bessy, What Happened to You?
By Chalissa
"A few centuries ago | Particularly under the Eastern skies | She grazed peacefully under the sun. | Frolicked in the village pond | Walked three to four miles every day | Had her fill of grasses | Provided milk and nourishment | For the ones that took care of her..."

Veganism: Food for Thought
By Stephanie Nouvel, age 18
"You couldn't imagine a more comprehensive single choice, | Sadly overlooked by the majority's voice, | That is deceptively influenced by politics and wealth..."

An Angel
By Bonnie Gourira, age 13
"When I was just a pup | the loved me and hugged me a lot | But now I am older | Beautiful instead of cute..."

Don't Take My Baby
By Bonnie Gourira, age 13
"I look wide eyes shining | to my mother who is whining | Don't take my son she yells | The pain in her heart is pure hell..."

Love Makes the World Go Round
By Name Withheld
"I do not eat the meat | That urge is surely beat | I love animals with all my heart | If only you would do your part..."

Prayer
By Andrea Cahuantzi, age 15
"Imagine us healthy | Paint us happy | Stop abusing us..."

Animal Harm
By Jess Breen, age 15
"pigs cleansing impurities in their muddy glory | no remorse for such harmless eyes | pigs unaware of their bloodshed story | unalienable rights alienably denied..."

Revenge of the Cows
By Jamie Cutter, age 16
"Human loin dripping grease | I see the time has come to eat | Your body's warm and ready to feast |Too bad you don't know it's you that's the meat..."

I Ain't Got No Mama
By Name Withheld
"I ain't got no mama | or at least I don't think I do | I ain't got nobody | I've been livin' for quite sometime now..."

Animals
By Name Withheld
"Badgers, foxes awake at night | But during the day they're kept out of sight. | Spotty giraffes are so tall | Half their size isn't even small..."

Skipping
By Kim Scott, age 13
"I've learned | (through careful and constant experimentation) | that people look at you like you've landed and want to meet their leader..."

Society
By John Edwards, age 19
"Deeply within the mind and body of the factory, we await the answers of our managers cries. | Not knowing why or how, we change the bolts and locks..."

Turn Off the TV
By Rick, age 16
"Mindlessly staring, my brain fries; | As I watch, my spirit dies. | The remote, an awful tool, | protected my media, encouraged by school..."

Through a Deer's Eyes
By Rick, age 16
"Running, leaping, I try to keep alive. | Dodging, jumping, there's nowhere to hide..."

Veggie Girl
By Emily Cordes, age 16
"Faster than an animal rights petition in circulation! | More powerful than soy protein! | Able to leap tall blocks of tofu in a single bound!"

Why Can't I Be Loved
By Bridgitte Leah Ferguson, age 13
"Why can't I be loved, | is the question I ask. | Is it because I'm a cow, | not a dog, or a cat?"

Not Willingly
By Bridgitte Leah Ferguson, age 13
"Have you ever seen a slaughterhouse, | and the horrors within? | Have you witnessed the killing, | have you seen it begin?"

An Unknown Voice
By Joann Paredes, age 15
"I'm getting sick | of sleeping in my own vomit. | Every night | I cry myself to sleep..."

Violated as a Goldfish
By Starza Kolman, age 19
"Startled by a hand | that yanked me out | and forced me down in darkeness..."

Fridge Findings
By Starza Kolman, age 19
"Red, dripping carnal mess | prepackaged with suffering and disease..."

Life as a Lab Rat
By Starza Kolman, age 19
"Cold, dark metal lurks below me, | as cold, dark metal haunts above me..."