A fleeting glimpse
Of a dog in the park
Makes me think.

Are we animals?
'Course we're not.

Animals own a life,
Life owns us humans.

Animals kill to live,
We humans live to kill.

Animals eat and sleep;
Humans feed and put to sleep-
Feed fellow devourers money,
Put to sleep their conscience for money.

Animals remain loyal
Until their final moment;
Humans loyally break promises-
Sever ties with their closest friends,
Break the priceless bonds of trust,
All with a casual smile
Upon their plastic faces.

Animals for years remember
The smallest acts of kindness;
I still can't recall the name
Of the man who pulled
My drowning body
Out of the Red Sea
Two months ago.

Animals press their wet noses
Against the window pane;
Humans press mounds of salt
Against humans' pain.

Animals live with immense fear
From fierce predators;
Humans don't need anyone else for fear-
Their own brothers are enough.

Each of us must adopt an animal
And keep him safe within
Our wealthy homes and filthy souls;
So he can teach us ignorant fools
The meaning of living.

And how to take decisions with the heart,
And forgive the worst wrongdoers;
And how to make love a tiny part
Of the sorrows one endures.

And how to leave the past behind
And forget what is gone;
And how to squeeze the essence of life
Into a tiny song.

Are we animals? 'Course we're not.

Cuz animals live simply-
Humans simply live.