We are quaggas
We used to gallop through the plains of South Africa
We used to enjoy the company of our distant cousins
The ones that didn’t get hunted
Not till extinction, at least
Quaggas were herding animals
We traveled together
We ate together
We slept together
But as the years passed our herd dwindled
Smaller
And smaller
And smaller
Until we turned into me
My brothers and sisters are gone
The elders in my herd are gone
There can’t be a we if only I am left
The last quagga
Now I am alone
I travel alone
I eat alone
I sleep alone
I hide alone
And when my hiding spot isn’t good enough anymore
And when you find me scared and all by myself
With an empty belly and emptier heart
You will take me
And I won’t try to stop it anymore
And when you find me you will kill me
You will kill me like you did my brothers
I hope they put up a good fight
It’s a shame I’m too tired to do the same
And when you find me you will eat me
Eat me like you did my sisters
I hope they tasted good
I hope you enjoyed the way your teeth dug into their flesh
I hope it was worth making us go extinct
And when you find me you will skin me
Skin me like you did my elders
Did they make pretty bags?
Accessories that would become outdated after a year
It’s a shame you only thought we were pretty dead
And when you find me I will accept my fate
You will kill me like you did my brothers
You will eat me like you did my sisters
You will skin me like you did my elders
There will be no more we
There won’t even be a me
The last quagga will be no more
I hope you’re happy with yourselves