23 For Animals, Forgotten or Not

For the sake of the animals

the last to eat,

the last to speak,

for the extinct,

species of many animals of

the world,

of jungles and deserts,

for the forgotten animals of

the past,

for the underappreciated animals

on the Earth,

for the screamed at ones,

slimy scales and hairy legs,

for all that remains of them,

their presence

exhilarating us, startling us

as we observe from

a faraway distance.