Poem by Paul Guenette

​Eat These Words
 
Like your own mother
She wants only
Healthy children in school
Bright eyes and brains
 
The small farmer
Sweat rolls from her face
Pointed stick planting hoe weeding
Food only if it rains
 
The well is all day
Every day 25 meters down rubber bucket
For drinking washing cooking every thing
Family needs water you know
 
Rural electrification
Brings green rice fields and income
Time and pumps and spigots and vegetables
Schools too sprout and grow
 
Educating her daughters
Feeding every child’s mind
This woman smiles
Like your own mother

Paul Guenette (Montgomery County, MD) is a recently retired economic development manager with expertise in international agribusiness. Mr. Guenette designed and managed development programs in a career spanning 45 years and 90 countries.

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