if an owl

if an owl weren't an owl
what would an owl be
a wasp or a hornet
a gull by the sea

if a sheep lost it's sheepness
what would a sheep be
a toad or a fish
or a nice piece of brie

if an eagle forgot
what an eagle should be
would it grow fat and green
like the pod of a pea

if i were not me
then whom might i be
a cabbage, a king
or a high jumping flea

we are who we are
for a reason i guess
if we were someone else
would we be something less

all things are created
they grow as they should
all equally bad
and yes, equally good

the grass and the trees
the stones and the sand
the waters which flow
to the sea from the land

the flowers on a plant
the fruit on a vine
a snake which just slithers
the dregs of the wine

we all live our lives
a collection of cells
we grow and we die
skin,fur, feathers or shells

is there a source
to which we return
a place much like heaven
for which we all yearn

my heaven of course
might just be your hell
with rump steak and whiskey
and that cigarette smell

the point of this poem
there must be a point...
the last word which rhymes
why...it has to be joint

well, that makes no sense
in life few things do
think of the creatures
trapped in a zoo

what makes a flower
and what makes a weed
the one we destroy
the other we feed

we love to decide
what is good, what is bad
who gave us this power
are we stark raving mad

have we no humility
no sense of wonder
what makes us believe
earth is ours to plunder