ByCatch

drawn towards the lights but unceremoniously left behind for the scavengers

dredged up into cubicles to decompose slowly in front of computer screens

casually dumped back into the deep water, crippled and unable to survive

sworn at and kicked aside to die on shore for slowing up our good work

injured by educational procedures used to safely ensnare desired students

albatrosses taking the bait from the air and then being dragged for miles underwater

fatally injured and cast back to swim upside down in descending circles

unintentionally captured then disdainfully thrown into a useless drug rehab, again

incidentally taken by non-selective methods, they are merest collateral destruction

non-targeted and unwanted, uncounted and non-revenue generating

discarded as quickly as convenient to bloat and smell in welfare lines

disgorged whole and dead with the bloody offal of the target catch

only occurring to the least practicable extent - With ham-handed factory techniques

landing with a wet thud in another interminable and useless meeting

certainly harmed in a random fashion with absolutely no malicious intent

accidentally ensnared to the detriment of the ecosystem and the species

unintended targets mistakenly gasping for breath by shopping mall fountains

brought tangentially to the brink of extinction by blind economic demand

expiring uselessly from unwittingly administered injuries

unsuitable for membership in a proper consumer society

condemned by cost accountants as too expensive to even try and save

held fast and unwanted in traps in place for profit-generating species

caught tightly in marketing schemes but then clubbed and dumped back

standing out embarrassingly against the mass of the desirable catch

innocent bystander relegated to an expense called ‘Cost of Disposal’

unwittingly hypnotized by dreams built to ensnare real customers

the vast mechanical operation made more senseless by their unnecessary deaths

fought over by seabirds whose numbers increase unnaturally…for a while

bodies falling to the bottom feeders like the drug dealers, pimps and preachers

adding but the smallest fraction to the price paid by thrifty consumers

the cost of their extinctions not reflected on corporate income statements or CEO bonuses

expiring slowly on their sides, so very pale and fish-breathing in old modular homes

spiraling downward alone into the pressure and the darkness of the abyss or the void