A HEARING FOR A HERRING
O Mighty Sea in whom we live and swim,
I ask a hearing in your holy sight,
The plight of baby herring is my groan:
How we get named "sardines!" It isn't right!
It's a disgrace in every
supermarket,
There tins of "sardines"
pile up by the ton,
Yet in the tins are twenty
one-odd species
Of different kinds of creatures
named as one.
And that one name does not name any fishes!
There's no "sardine" in your transcendent plan,
And herring all resent the implication
That we were born to squeeze into a can.
Where taste is in the oil,
not in the contents,
And oil is far more costly
than the fish!
Oh, mighty God, remove this
great dishonor
Do hear our prayer, &
grant us what we wish!
For we are born, like every other creature,
To glorify your great and holy name,
And as your name is precious to your honor,
Don't be surprised your children feel the same.
from the forthcoming book Prayers of 100 Animals A to Z, by William Cleary
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