Fish Love

I've often heard people say
that they love fish.
But how can you love
something
if you've killed it?

People say they love meat,
and, in the next breath, cows.
But if you loved one
then wherefore
the slaughterhouse?

People can be thick as pigs
and common as muck
when they say
they love things
but don't really give a fuck.

Like you say you love your dog.
I don't doubt that you do.
But do you know
pigs are just as clever?
I'm sure they'd love a bone to chew.

Anybody, no doubt,
would say they love their partner.
It doesn't mean they're gonna
chop them up
and put them on a plate.

And yet many of these
same people
are the very ones
who slap them up
and drive them to early graves.

Because you can't say you love something
if your heart's not in its place.
My friend, you don't love fish.
You just like the way it tastes.

When we can learn to love others
just as much as we love ourselves
then I think the pain might dissipate
and we'd have a much more loving world.