This is a poem I wrote for an art and poetry competition organised by Animal Aid, an animal rights organisation, which I support. The theme of the poem or artwork had to be factory farming. The competition closed three months ago and I took first prize in the age 17-18 poetry category, winning a digital camera. I hope you like it.

Dear Diary...
I couldn’t sleep last night,
Too many thoughts inside my head,
Swirling round.
I swayed from side to side instead,
Slowly, rhythmically, it’s relaxing,
And makes me feel safe.

Dear Diary...
Someone stopped and looked at me today,
I made them stop and think,
For a while.
It was a young one, as you might expect,
Not too bad as they go,
Seemed to understand me.

Dear Diary...
I feel daft writing this,
Ok, thinking it. I feel like a traitor,
Like them.
You can’t trust any of them,
The others always say,
If only they knew.

Dear Diary...
The others don’t think like me,
They don’t seem to think much at all,
As far as I can tell.
All they want to do is eat,
It’s sad but true,
Sometimes, I feel so powerless.

Dear Diary...
I don’t sleep much nowadays,
There scarcely the room to in here,
But when I do sleep, oh, the dreams I have,
Green grass, fresh air, a blazing sun,
Too joyous for words, I never want to wake up,
I always do.

Dear Diary...
I can’t help thinking there must be something more to life,
Something better, beyond this dark and lonely stall,
As in my dreams.
The sty is restless today, the elders are grunting,
I’ve never understood why they make that noise,
It’s so human.

Dear Diary..
I mustn’t daydream for too long today,
The elders have said we’re leaving,
We’re going out!
I’ve never been out before, it’s a dream come true,
I’ll have to go now, but when we get back,
I’ll tell you all about it...