THE 6TH DAY OF CREATION
A Prose-Poem by Roberta Kalechofsky
Cloth
20 pages
Illustrated by Barbara Baine Goodsitt
The poem is about the deadliest of human vices---intellectual curiosity, as Augustine described it: a lust worse than sexual lust. The author suggests that the human race, with its extraordinary requirements for progress, health, and the pursuit of happiness via the purchase of endless goods, has become, in the words of Loren Eisley, "the lethal factor on earth." They are the creatures who arrive at the end of the process of creation, on the 6h day of creation, they "arrive on the edge of the night."
Sixth Day Review
Fluid with Jewish inflections, Kalechofsky's masterful language sweeps the reader to startling institutional settings in which unthinkable cruelty to animals is routine. The message is a rude awakening for a novice just stepping into the world of animal exploitation. For veteran animal activists it is brilliant, as this excerpt illustrates:
God of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Jesus
Showing mercy to all your creatures, except these.
What world have we created beyond your reach?
In an evolution of thought, the prophet cried:
I care nothing for your sacrifices or experiments,
By the winds that loosened Isaiah's tongue
There are only four things that matter to God
Justice, mercy, holiness, and the majesty of His creation
Sandra Nathan, Tikkun, March, 2009
