Deadly Blue Pellets Poem by Anita Shanti Joseph

Out in my garden
A vengeance strange – displayed
Deadly blue pellets – sprayed
To lure and kill the slugs
That feed on green tender leaves
Of my rare tulips and delicate lilies
So carefully chosen and arrayed
In my dearly loved garden, serene.
With anxious gloved hands
I uprooted the pert thistles
And weeded the strays away
To pave way for beautiful exotic
Paradise – private, where
I would muse my day in solitude.
To think is a pleasure, a tingling stream
To see the dazzling colours, hues and shades
To await in patience for spring to come
It is the pride of an English home
My heart gladdens as I wait to see
The creation of my handiwork
Behind the walled space is my home
So prim and pruned with that subtle design allure
Soaking in sunshine and love
Just a thought…
Of what use these slugs anyway
But eat and waste away
As they lay dead on my pathways
Ashamed I turned a killer
I ponder in silence
Why at the cost of something always?
Is this a law?
Innocence pays or plays with our hearts
I don’t know – and will never understand
The slugs may soon vanish
And be banished to the wild
Keeping them away from our enclosed gardens
Perhaps they might find a way
To beat the deadly blue pellets
Who knows how and when ignorance suffers
Does education – our knowledge
Reach and teach the heart?
Will my children have to drive
To a faraway zoo to see a slug
Boxed for view? Himself represented
From my deadly blue view.