Of Love and Palm Trees

Think of all the words (in English, now)
we have for “bringing death”
…like Eskimos for “snow.”

The Cides family: Matri and Patri, Infanti and Fratri,
Homo, and Geno, and Sui.
Assassination for the one; massacre, the many.
There’s slaughter, manslaughter,
    execution (divine retribution)
and murder (in degrees).
There’s putting down (to euthanize)
and taking out (refers to spies),
kill, annihilate, destroy.

Much to our astonishment,
there’s still capital punishment.
And, clean words, for modern times:
Harvest: for meaning ask the doe, ask the seal.
Sacrifice: ask any bullock or kid, ram or calf;
ask any hog, rat, dog, cat, monkey,
or soldier.
Management: ask the wolf or the bison,
    ask the Sioux, the Cherokee, the Apache, et al.
Process: ask the chicken, ask the lamb,
ask the wind in the grass at Auschwitz.

Think of all the words (in English, now)
we have for “love”
…like Eskimos for “palm tree.”