Flowers from Life

SECTION 1
　“The flowers have bloomed!// We did it!”// We shouted with joy/when we saw the yellow and orange marigolds/that we had been looking after.// We were studying animal science.// So why did we grow flowers?//
　Everything started two years earlier.// In our first year,/we all lived in a dormitory.// We got up at six,/and cleaned the smelly cowshed and chicken cages.// We were proud of doing these tasks/to raise living creatures.//
　The toughest and most shocking lesson/was butchering chickens.// “Work quickly!”// Our teachers ordered us/as we followed their directions.// In the end,/we cooked and ate the poultry.// And we understood the true meaning of “Itadakimasu.”//