ILLINOIS AUDUBON BULLETIN 2 
THE SPEECHLESS ONES 
| speak for the speechless ones 
who are unable to speak 
And tell of the countless woes 
inflicted upon the weak. 
People are thoughtless creatures, 
and some of them even cruel. 
How many humans are there 
Who live by the Golden Rule? 
Animals cannot write protests 
or appeal to a court of law, 
They have to depend on people 
for food or an injured paw. 
How would you like to have children 
and be cast aside to die 
On a county dump or roadside, 
Where cars go whizzing by? 
Would you like to exist on garbage and bones, 
and often nothing at all? 
Or be kept in a cage for a season, 
just to hunt a bit in the fall? 
What of the wounded deer 
who drags itself off to die, 
Or a wing-ed bird that is crippled 
and no longer fly? 
Man was given dominion 
over beast both wild and tame — 
His unconcern for cruelty 
is really a burning shame. 
lf God made all His creatures, 
and notes each sparrow’s fall, 
How can we hope for forgiveness 
if we are not king to all? 
Mrs. Everett Waddey 
(Reprinted from Virginia Wildlife, Virginia Commission of Game & Inland Fisheries) 
