A feral pig in last moments

burrows into the sand trap

on a desert golf course

digging its dignity hole,

whines and cries,

messes itself

until it twitches still

I did not create its pain

and am helpless to end it,

this spectacle,

this intrinsic contradiction

of creation,

the source of many myths

told to us as children

about the safety of our souls

to help us fall asleep