At fourteen, I was almost recruited
by PETA. The documentary screening

in the basement of the Crescent Hill Library
really got me, the one Joaquin Phoenix

narrated. My friend Kelsey accompanied
me, and touched my knee when Joaquin

spoke, regretful, elegaic, over graphic
footage of a dolphin’s belly being slit,

dangling from a hook in a warehouse.
Unwarranted cruelty. Of course I sobbed.

Of course I put my email down
for newsletters and future updates.

Of course I got the stickers with cute
yellow chicks announcing “I am not a nugget.”

Long story short, upon returning home,
I announced my intentions to my mother.

Mother’s response: “Nutella’s got milk in it.”
The words sank in slowly. Oh no. Oh no,

I wouldn’t ever give that up.