A Lesser Life
A Lesser Life
A lesser life is better than no life
At all. We creep in corners, out of sight,
So as not to offend superior
Beings who bask in sunlight, being seen,
Like lizards with a sleepy eye, so still,
Their sudden motion is surprisingly
Effective in their killing of a poor
Prey animal, these officers of death,
That let an agile creature live, as long
As their huge appetite is satisfied:
We scurry into regions where we hide
Our little breathing, panting exercise
Of wit and pale existence, hidden in
A crevice, under rocks where shadows close
Out evidence we might exist. We keep
Ourselves diminutive, and seek a time
To show the pattern of accomplishment
In our own meek endeavours, not compared
To what is greatness in a larger beast,
A tiger’s claw, an eagle’s talon, sharp
Incisive teeth the shark possesses, such
Natural weapons, overarching us,
Instilling fear in dainty nimble fawns
About to bolt, escaping by a sharp
Distress distilled into a shot of fire,
The moment someone fires a gun, to flee
With almost instant, most instinctual
Commotion in a scattered pattern wide,
To go from mouse to doe, immediately.
The praise of predators for their supreme
Ability to kill and rip the guts
Of prey is often wondered at; the ease
With which they stalk with stealthy subtle pace
Their targets and then pounce so suddenly,
Their motion changed from delicate to force,
To spring the trap with such celerity,
We find their slaughter of the innocent
A glorious achievement, as if made
By Nature for the function of a death
Administered without remorse; yet some
Poor animal is dead, with violence torn
Apart – where is the pity for life lost,
Upon the altar of a greater beast
Thus sacrificed ? The little creature would
Forage for food, or graze the turf, not seek
A feast amid the flesh of carcases
Already rotting in the sun, the sense
Of being mortal living feeling gone,
That knew their death was soon to come; the time
Between their apprehension and their death
Just long enough to know what they will lose,
The skipping freshness of a meadow, where
So many nibbling creatures bend their heads
In simple modest function eating grass,
Or dipping down their slender necks to drink
The sparkling water of a pure clean stream.
When Nature claims the dead before their time,
Who dares to interrupt relentless death
And says, for pity, let this creature live,
Not at this moment sever arteries,
Where blood essentially continues life;
To entertain a momentary sight,
The doe and fawn, resplendent in the sun,
With morning dew attending on their coats,
A scene of undisturbed serenity ?
The tiger we admire, the lion in
His pride, their prime of life dictates the doe
Should die; that beauty lost to feed the snarl
Of teeth designed to lacerate the flesh
We found adorable. Yet we cannot
Alter the fundamental practice of
A carnivore, but should not glory in
The kill. Our bullets maim and slaughter more
Than any noble lion ever did,
And call ourselves superior. Alas,
That our commission was so desperate,
To praise the murder of the innocent.
About this poem
The poem contrasts the "Lesser life" of creatures, including humans, who are happy to just live their lives, and the more dominant predators, who must kill to survive.
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Submitted by petergartner on October 22, 2024
Modified by petergartner on October 22, 2024
- 2:48 min read
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Quick analysis:
| Scheme | A ABCXDEXFXGGHIXXJKXLMXXHMCEDGENXOXEXEKXFXXXLXXHXXJFXXXPXNJFXOABXXEIXXXXXIXXPXK |
|---|---|
| Closest metre | Iambic pentameter |
| Characters | 3,058 |
| Words | 562 |
| Stanzas | 2 |
| Stanza Lengths | 1, 77 |
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"A Lesser Life" Poetry.com. STANDS4 LLC, 2025. Web. 22 Jan. 2025. <https://www.poetry.com/poem/201919/a-lesser-life>.
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