It’s that look of surprise
Yes that one
And I’ve come to expect it
The anticipation
The absolute awkwardness that follows
You raise a brow
Oh! you say
Biding time
Wondering how to respond to this
Confession
My truth: There it is
On the table
I am exposed now
All my colours laid bare
I am one of them
May we continue?
Perhaps not
Perhaps our differences are too great
You are thinking it already
Aren’t you
But where do you get your protein?
Once, I would feel myself blush
Embarrassed and somehow ashamed
By the social problem I had become
It was hard
Because you were hard
To convince, every time we had this conversation
Every
Time
You ask all the questions
And state
All the insulting justifications
About why you are not like me
And why I am wrong
And why I must be sick
And while you may have this one off chat
Then tell it later
An amusing anecdote
To jeering friends
Or colleagues with rolling eyes
I have this ‘chat’ every day
To justify my actions
And explain my beliefs
As if they need excusing…
But time has matured me
And you have strengthened me
Every time you questioned me
And I stuck to my guns.
Now I feel the pride
The purity that comes
From a life of compassion
So where do you get your protein?
There
You said it.
I draw my breath;
From plants I say.
No! you say, like actual protein?
Yes. I get. Actual. Protein.
But our teeth can eat meat you say
We were born to eat animals
Yes our teeth can eat meat, sure
Cats eat meat too
But I’ve not seen a cat use a knife and fork
Or a cooker
Eat as a lion eats and I shall concede
You are right
You were born to eat animals
And cheese! you gush
I couldn’t live without cheese
I think that literally you could
But you think you couldn’t
So I hold my tongue
And Oh! Sweet honey!
And milk and eggs!
You do realise they don’t actually die for those things don’t you?
Yes. I realise.
But I also realise that many do
And millions more painfully suffer.
For the things we do to fill our boots:
To those cows,
And chickens,
And Oh! Yes honey – even the bees
Are unnatural
And unforgivable
But I hold my tongue
My Brain aches
I recompose
I’d love to go into it now I say
But I think it’s time to order…
Yes please
Baked Potato and salad
Just beans please
There.
Not so weird after all was it?
© H M Edwards 2015. All Rights Reserved.
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AUTHOR’S NOTE:
I am currently practising becoming a much less passive vegan.
I believe it is important to have this conversation whenever possible.
However, I am only just learning how to conduct myself in the face of opposition and remembering enough information each time to back myself up.
Because lets face it; to defend your vegan (and/or raw) lifestyle choice you need to know your facts.
I find the longer I have been living this way, the easier it gets to handle – because increasingly, I can simply use my own body as a testimonial. And I’m doing okay. No one yet has denied I look healthy.
This piece is a nod towards what I’ve found to be the hardest thing about being the change I want to see in the world.
When people say that it must be so hard, or it must be so restricting, I find that it really isn’t.
I’m thriving.
The thing that is hard is holding my head up when I’m being put down.
But unless we continue to hold our heads high, there is no one else to show the way.
Stay strong, and stay true to yourself.
Thank you for reading.
Haylee-Mai