In this post: An amazing story about the pig who acted against his farmer, a story of 'eat or be eaten' that's more than it seems.
Category: Short Story Collection + Fast Fiction
Ramiah Recommended?
Yes!
I couldn't read this poem without smiling. And yes, you read that write folks, a poem.
We know poems don't often make an appearance on Ramiah Reads When. No clear reason for that - I enjoy poems, I just haven't every really sought them out. But this "The Pig" inspired me to change that.
This poem features a simple AABB rhyme scheme. That, however, is where the simplicity ends.
The poem starts with a brilliant pig who starts wondering about his life purpose (retweet). He has an epiphany that he was born to be slaughtered, his body meant to feed the farm he lived on and perhaps many others. As a rational, sentient being, he obviously wasn't happy about this. When his caretaker, Farmer Bland, comes into his barn, the pig attacks him and eats Farmer Bland. Why?
'And so, because I feared the worst,
'I thought I'd better eat him first.'
Like I said, brilliant.
Now, at face value, this poem seems to be about an insane carnivore that goes on an unprompted murder spree. How would we know what Farmer Bland truly had in mind for the pig? Maybe the pig was being prepared to become a family pet, or compete in a pig contest, or just live it's best live on the farm? We don't. The farmer was eaten before we had the chance to know.
But perhaps the pig was right and his stance to 'eat or be eaten' ended up saving his life.
I loved this story because I was immediately provoked to reflect on my own life and my approach. As y'all know (and are probably tired of reading at this point, haha), I am contemplating my life purpose. And although this pig took some extreme measures, his line of thinking is worth some deep thought.
"They want my bacon slice by slice/"To sell at a tremendous price!" at first glance appears to be about a pig being sold for his meat, but theoretically, is a metaphor for someone's worth. Likely one of the sources for my stress, I have bad habit of viewing my worth through the lens of the things I do, like accomplishments. These are things I 'produce' that have an outcome; closing an agreement on a negotiated contract (accomplishment) produces more revenue for the business (outcome), similar to the pig's meat producing a meal for others. Because I view my worth in the scope of things I do, I try and do more and more to grow my worth, which can leave to burnout. It's very much a worker bee, rat race mentality that I am proactively trying to program out of myself.
The pig doesn't settle for being another animal. No. The pig takes the (again, extreme) position to attack the structure that defines his worth. He does it to protect himself and to define his worth on his own terms. And did it without remorse.
When I think about how I want to define my own worth, it can take many forms. I could work within the structure and measure worth from internal values instead of external accomplishments. I could work outside of the structure and create my own. I'm sure an infinite number of other paths exist, but those are the two I lead with.
I'm still figuring out what my approach will be, bu this story brought so much joy. It's funny and reminded me to not take things so seriously, that other paths -- other than those I feel stuck in -- exist, and it's possible to do something different, outside of the box, and unexpected.
Just, y'know, don't take that as an excuse to attack farmers.
Read the story for yourself here and tell me what you think below!
Ramiah Reflects
Questions to Ask Yourself (and answer!):
What's your approach to finding your life purpose? Does the thought of doing so bring you stress? If so, what's the root cause?
Food for Thought:
Is there a box you feel you have to fit into? Is there a system you are trying to follow that does not sit right with you?
Ramiah's Re-read When
Re-read when:
You want to read a poem with a lesson
You want a funny tale that will leave a smile on your face
You need encouragement to follow your own path
You want to read about a pig protagonist :)
(No notes this time, folks!)
Check out my other posts and book notes here.
Until next time!
Montana Houston
