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HUNGER
Are you hungry, my Little One?
Never mind - soon it will be time to eat.
Look: Mamma is putting yams in a pot to boil;
you can eat them mashed,
that way your mouth will not hurt
the way it does when you have to chew.
Why don’t you lie down and rest now?
When you wake up, it will be time for dinner.
My Little One, my Beloved, watches me,
sees me take yams from a basket,
sees me place them in the cooking pot.
I make a show of putting the pot on the fire,
cleaning pans, busying myself
with preparing the meal to come.
From the corner of my eye I watch.
Little eyes grow drowsy at last with waiting.
Little eyes fall closed at last, still wondering
when the meal will be ready to eat.
I look down at the stones
which I have placed in the pot.
The water is boiling at last.
I let it boil. My Little One will sleep now,
and I will let my Little One sleep.
(((❤)))
ReplyDelete♥ Thank you, dear friend ♥
DeleteWhat a beautiful and moving poem. In these few lines there is the power to stir our hearts with compassion and empathy. I truly love the way that you have used the voice of the mother, as the first person, to touch upon the pain of starvation. No one on our planet today should go hungry, especially children. Indeed there is enough production of food on our planet to feel every single person and more. Yet most of the food, the actually goes to feed livestock. According to David Pimentel, Professor of Entomology, Cornell University, an average of 70% of all grains in the US goes to feed livestock, and within that 90% of soybeans and 80% of corn go to livestock feed. However, Attempting to convert everyone to a vegetarian diet is not the answer, but certainly cutting back on meat consumption could be a significant step. Ultimately it is the arising awareness of the unity of life that is important - where we can feel the suffering that is happening around the world and so much within our very own communities. One need not go far to find want, poverty and suffering. Genuine compassion needs to be established to be the guiding light for any action. Sometimes or unfortunately too often, well intentioned actions can become end up being compromised due to greed and selfishness. It is the light of compassion in our hearts that is a most important factor for true change. In this poem, Hunger, Emma places the reader as the mother of a child who has to go without food. Thank you Emma, this is truly a brilliant and moving poem.
ReplyDeleteThank you, dear Joseph ♥
ReplyDelete