The Squab

The Squab - meaning Summary

Pragmatic Appetite for Change

This two-line epigram uses wry humor to turn a selfish act—eating a squab—into a claimed public service. The speaker mockingly reframes personal consumption as a civic contribution, suggesting that eliminating a squab prevents it becoming a pigeon. The poem satirizes moral rationalizations and the tendency to justify self-interest with grandiose civic language, compressing irony and ethical commentary into a single, economical couplet.