I couldn't put my finger on it, this query deep in me
What was I looking at, these monstrosities I did see?
Why were they here with me? Why tread on same ground as I?
Out of all them in this pen, I was the only ass in nine
I the gray, with flowing mane, the others, not the same
Some had spots, some had stripes, and some seemed far too tame
So what was I to do from here with my aseity?
For I cannot make an ass of you, as the only ass is me.
I decided to gallop gallantly, as far away as I could get
From all the others who seemed the same, but just didn't seem to fit
In my corner of the pen, I decided to sit and write
I wrote down all the vital things that should, my kind, define.
And when I had it all writ down, I could hardly believe
In all the years I'd ever lived, I was the biggest ass I'd seen.
This poem is focused around the word “ass.” It’s intention is to show that the methodology of the narrator is foolish.
We find out that our narrator is indeed an ass. He is in the pen with a bunch of other creatures he thinks look hideous. At the end of this line, he is declaring that he is the only “ass in nine,” which is a play on him saying that in the pen, he is the only asinine, or foolish one.
The narrator is now declaring that the reason he thinks the others don’t belong in his pen is due to them not having the same type of mane as he does, or due to their different coloration. This may sometimes be an indicator that a creature is not an ass, but it is certainly not the only indicator. It is implied that our ass is making some big assumptions and hasty generalizations here.
The narrator is now asserting his independence and disdain, as he feels he cannot commune with the other creatures. He can’t make something an ass if it’s not. Interestingly, he says he can’t make an ass out of “you” if the only one is me. This is a common sort of saying when one assumes: “when you assume, you make an ass out of u and an ass out of me.” So our ass is assuming here, and making an ass out of himself.
The narrator acknowledges that the other creatures do seem quite like him, but they just weren’t the same. Since they weren’t exactly like him in certain ways, they must not be like him at all. They are not asses!
Our ass has now decided that it’s time for him to define what it truly is to be an ass – as if he’s the authority on what that is.
After our ass decided what an ass truly was, he realized that he fit all the categories, and was the biggest ass he’d ever seen (in more ways than one). He basically used circular reasoning to get to his conclusion. He saw differences in the others in the pen, and was put off by those differences. He then decided that he needed to figure out why he felt this way, so he decided to create his own definition of what it meant to be an ass. To do this, the only objective means he used were basing his definition off his own characteristics. But that’s faulty, or at least subjectively choosing an objective measure, because he is not judging his assness off the definition of what an ass is, but rather defining an ass based upon who he is. It’s no wonder he fits into the category of “ass” while those he doesn’t want to don’t.
The intention of this poem is to be a parallel to abortion. Many choose to define humanity based upon the ruling class. Adults who are fully formed individuals with characteristics particular to their age and development decide to define beings of the same class as non-human or sub-human because they don’t fit in with them. This reasoning is spurious, subjective, arbitrary, circular, irrational, ungrounded, and most of all, asinine.
What was I looking at, these monstrosities I did see?
Why were they here with me? Why tread on same ground as I?
Out of all them in this pen, I was the only ass in nine
I the gray, with flowing mane, the others, not the same
Some had spots, some had stripes, and some seemed far too tame
So what was I to do from here with my aseity?
For I cannot make an ass of you, as the only ass is me.
I decided to gallop gallantly, as far away as I could get
From all the others who seemed the same, but just didn't seem to fit
In my corner of the pen, I decided to sit and write
I wrote down all the vital things that should, my kind, define.
And when I had it all writ down, I could hardly believe
In all the years I'd ever lived, I was the biggest ass I'd seen.
This poem is focused around the word “ass.” It’s intention is to show that the methodology of the narrator is foolish.
We find out that our narrator is indeed an ass. He is in the pen with a bunch of other creatures he thinks look hideous. At the end of this line, he is declaring that he is the only “ass in nine,” which is a play on him saying that in the pen, he is the only asinine, or foolish one.
The narrator is now declaring that the reason he thinks the others don’t belong in his pen is due to them not having the same type of mane as he does, or due to their different coloration. This may sometimes be an indicator that a creature is not an ass, but it is certainly not the only indicator. It is implied that our ass is making some big assumptions and hasty generalizations here.
The narrator is now asserting his independence and disdain, as he feels he cannot commune with the other creatures. He can’t make something an ass if it’s not. Interestingly, he says he can’t make an ass out of “you” if the only one is me. This is a common sort of saying when one assumes: “when you assume, you make an ass out of u and an ass out of me.” So our ass is assuming here, and making an ass out of himself.
The narrator acknowledges that the other creatures do seem quite like him, but they just weren’t the same. Since they weren’t exactly like him in certain ways, they must not be like him at all. They are not asses!
Our ass has now decided that it’s time for him to define what it truly is to be an ass – as if he’s the authority on what that is.
After our ass decided what an ass truly was, he realized that he fit all the categories, and was the biggest ass he’d ever seen (in more ways than one). He basically used circular reasoning to get to his conclusion. He saw differences in the others in the pen, and was put off by those differences. He then decided that he needed to figure out why he felt this way, so he decided to create his own definition of what it meant to be an ass. To do this, the only objective means he used were basing his definition off his own characteristics. But that’s faulty, or at least subjectively choosing an objective measure, because he is not judging his assness off the definition of what an ass is, but rather defining an ass based upon who he is. It’s no wonder he fits into the category of “ass” while those he doesn’t want to don’t.
The intention of this poem is to be a parallel to abortion. Many choose to define humanity based upon the ruling class. Adults who are fully formed individuals with characteristics particular to their age and development decide to define beings of the same class as non-human or sub-human because they don’t fit in with them. This reasoning is spurious, subjective, arbitrary, circular, irrational, ungrounded, and most of all, asinine.