Lisa Martinovic

Is that chicken organic? 

Excuse me . . .  
Is that chicken organic?  
That one, there  
When that chicken was still kickin’  
was she fed wholesome, all-organic meal  
free of treacherous hormones and antibiotics?  
Did she get to roam the range  
foraging and frolicking through amber waves of organic 
     grain?  
During her stay at Rancho de Pollo  
was this hen provided with a firm futon  
private phone , yoga classes and her  
pick of the  roosters?  
Was she sexually fulfilled?  
Did she lay Jumbo brown happy eggs like it says on the 
     carton?  
I mean, can you certify that this bird  
right here lead a full and rich life  
up until the day some thoughtful soul  
whacked off her head  
bled her dry and plucked her naked?  
Did she grow up in a nurturing, incest-free nuclear family  
with a multi-cultural education and her own web site  
before she was skinned, shrink-wrapped and shipped to 
     market?  
Did my little child of god have access to the panoply of 12-step programs  
for any recovery issues that might arise for one who was  
born to be broiled?  
Please assure me that she went through life without  
suffering irradiation or genetically engineered anything  
See, my body is sooooo sensitive  
I’ve got to make sure that whatever I consume  meets  
the highest standards of purity and nutritional excellence  
If I  am what I eat and I’m gonna eat meat  
I mean second-hand grains:  predigested, bio-converted 
     grub  
well, then my conversion machine—my chicken—  
had better be fueled by organic grains that were  
hand-harvested under a full moon by vine-ripened virgins  
Yes, I need to know all the details of my happy hen’s diet 
     and lifestyle choices  
Was her aura cleansed of negative psychic energies  
before I sautéed her in cold-pressed flax seed oil  
with a hint of fresh rosemary?  
Was a spiritual advisor of her choosing present  
during her final hours?  
Were last rites administered while Susan Sarandon held  
a candlelight prayer vigil outside the slaughterhouse?  
Before I speared her tender flesh with the tines of my fork before my teeth cut into her succulent thigh  
for god’s sake tell me she was treated humanely!  
I care about these things  
I may not be a vegetarian  
but my chicken had damn well better be