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Plant Your Seeds You hold the knowledge of life to feed generations of people created by you and me. Humanity grows strong within our family tree. The apple you bite holds the seeds. One apple has a purpose and meets our needs. God gave us a prosperity cycle. Our foods are blessed to be recycled. Tomatoes, cucumbers, watermelons, you see Open our vision to infinite possibilities. Our destiny is waiting on purposeful activity. Prepare the right environment, prepare to succeed. Eliminate the food disparity. Bow down on bended knees, anywhere will do. Mother earth will comfort you. Release the sacred seeds into magical soil. Sunshine and rain will keep the score. Our job duties are to water and weed. Add a little compost and admire with glee. We have the power to make a difference, choose what you focus on, pay attention. We will not be hungry in a nation of plenty. We have to stop listening to the invisible enemies. I challenge you all to take heed and bravely live by this creed. Simply plant your seeds. Click on the file below to listen to Cynthia read her poem: 
 Cynthia D. Martin enjoys teaching, writing, podcasting, and inspiring people to do exactly what brings them joy. She is the author of 'Speed Networking Five Simple Steps to Sell Your Products and Services.'
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Gluten Free Spring 2020 our two-hundred forty-fifth July 4th coming. Oil and water salt and sugar yeast and flour my bread rose. Then the outbreak – it flattened hoarding and bare shelves paper rations and hardship like so many others have always lived. I found nothing but flax seed sorghum quinoa and teff but I was saved American know-how raised my bread again – Lamb-of-God brand Vital Wheat Gluten with cranberries added and shredded flag bits. Here's an A/V recording of Don reading his poem (with subtitles): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Jgkp_drlmVc  Don Krieger is a biomedical researcher whose focus is the electric activity within the brain. He is author of the hybrid collection, "Discovery," and is a 2020 Creative Nonfiction Foundation Science-as-Story Fellow. His work has appeared in American Journal of Nursing, Neurology, Seneca Review, The Asahi Shimbun, The Blue Nib, Beltway Quarterly, and others, The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and others, and has appeared in several anthologies in both English and Farsi.
Much More than Dust in the Air Sahara’s hot sun, the millet stalks dry This field’s exhausted, swollen bellies cry Last year’s grain is gone this rain’s a must Harmattan blows through lifting red dust Senegal’s brown cloud wafts to the West Topsoil bomb of our millet field’s best You see a russet pillow, a sunset fair Network news says it’s just dust in the air A breath makes a ripple on the ocean’s face A New York woman in a state of grace The price of a Starbuck’s coffee It’s pocket change, Long Island toffee The farmer learns, plants a living fence Trees fix the soil, leaves make it dense The water holds, garden crops endure Back comes the topsoil, this food’s secure It’s so much more than just a speck of dust You know who needs it more, and you know that you must It’s the right thing to do, the right way to live It won’t break your bank to break down and give Click on the file below to listen to Paul read his poem:
 Paul Guenette 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. His career, and this poem, were inspired by his stint as a Peace Corps Volunteer in rural Senegal.
Dining with the Chorus I eat edge and void. My eyes trace the menu - tower, ditch, I murmur an urge. I eat, afraid but willing to engage in this exploration - bug, furious, a storm began. I eat eat the green, tastes of green upon my lips oh - my god eating a fury of bitter liveliness - fleshy, breath, fingertips just graze. Our daughter sighs in memory of first tongue, and of the early ecstasy full full full, a child full. Later - so I eat the game and the pages and the connectors but wait, I’ve been over this before - eat again again - choice, marquee, a poison dart. I eat the money and the car and the mortgage I eat the crime and the smile of the little unnamed girl across the street. I eat the talk and the screen and the tiles and the taxes. I eat right and then left, I eat the pedicure and lightening in the same sitting! Eat eat like the day-o, like the nightingale, like the poet. I eat electromagnetism - all forms, some delivered to my home, others coppered - friction - stored for when. Oh daughter, she sings of appetite, and as Bee-Queen motioning at the drones around her she sleeps. So formidable. We wait for her to stir, for her widen eyes to narrow - she cannot yet see her real food. And I eat as if my life depended on it. My precious time, my precious passing time - rattle, gold, my dreams so real my dreams gripped - can they be tendered instead? palm up? Here, daughter starts. She examines, begins the inquiry. Daughter is not yet refined and done, watch her question her hunger - her direction And it begins - listen listen. And an appetite is a good thing in balance, right? And in view - right? And built to last … right? Well….. . . . when St Peter and St Michael take my inventory and ask for that list of what might be called - loaves and fishes, I hope my answer is full. And so friends, at that time our daughter will be carried away on the wings of her deeds and by the fire of her intention. Born-child into the hope of change as are all who are willing - for who would want to stay small and closed? Who would want only - one small same way? Regina Coll lives in the Metro DC area. Her work has appeared in Little Patuxent Review, 2River Review, Lines and Stars, Blood Orange Review, and Emerge Literary Journal. She was the founder of the Bathroom Poetry Project in Takoma Park, MD and is interested in observation, planning, and re-use.
It is a difficult time to be hungry It is a difficult time to be hungry as the world continues to evolve. Along with broken economies and social structures, hunger remains unsolved. Food insecurity is no longer the burden for only some to bear. But if you cross the street or drive across your town, you will find hunger there. Toddlers and young ones going to sleep without the nourishment they require. As caretakers keep looking for that opportunity or hire. Between this bag of food or electricity many now must decide As the realities of the pandemic continue to abide. In Ethiopia and Kenya, locusts swarm and ravage the wheat Destroying livelihoods, fields, and the food the people eat. In Syria, hunger persists as families experience a rise in prices Inflation worsens and undernourishment follows, intensifying the crisis. In the LAC region those facing food insecurity will rise to 16 mill. And with all this going on, we battle COVID-19 still. In America, food banks face increased demand and unprecedented user rates, As hunger penetrates new demographics across the land, affecting every state. The political unrest in Ethiopia, Venezuela, the US and Hong Kong have reached a new altitude, Reminding us that justice, human rights, and equity are just as important as food. It is a difficult time to be hungry, almost everywhere on earth, But we are presented with new opportunities for innovation and rebirth. So, we shine a light on those who have shielded us with their priceless armor Our healthcare workers, engineers, delivery drivers and farmers. We remember our teachers, humanitarians, and market vendors from Indonesia to New York Knowing that every sector is necessary to ensure farm to fork. This time is pivotal, we must rethink how we feed, ensuring we take care of our planet as we rally to meet the needs. Food waste must be combated and challenges in the supply chain addressed. The solutions must be local, and engage women and youth- with fresh wisdom they are blessed. Money, time, skills, ideas, science- we all have something to give. It’s only through efficient collaboration, that the next generation will live. It is a difficult time to be hungry but still we must thrive. It is a difficult time to be hungry, but in unity, the challenge will keep us alive. Click on the file below to listen to Taiwo read her poem:
 Taiwo is a relief specialist at Food for the Hungry, where she works with field teams to prepare for and respond to rapid onset and complex emergencies. She has a masters in public health and is passionate about the humanitarian and development space, believing that everyone deserves to live with dignity and have their most basic needs met. She currently lives in Washington DC with her running shoes, Diet Coke, and laptop on which she writes short stories and the occasional poem.
Hunger Food is no luxury or gift no tool of humbling destruction food is a home of heritage a reclamation call from dust to dust, bone to bone. My hands have lived a thousand lives turned a million stones for in every crumb planted in my body ancestors have found their way home. The storms that saturate our existence make us question our minds are an invitation to quell the fire climbing the top of our bloodline. Listen to the soil honor its fertility life remains in our reach a lingering taste of vitality. The time has come to own our destiny and with each other we can harvest infinitely. The blades of our past ignorance are here to stay but the promise of a fuller belly lingers in the vision of a brighter day. Click on the file below to listen to Najya read her poem:
 Born and raised in "Chocolate City," Najya Williams (she/her) is a poet, filmmaker, and performer. Her debut poetry chapbook, "Cotton," spoken word album, "mad black woman," and original short films are available online via her website, najyawilliams.com. Looking ahead, Najya remains committed to changing hearts and minds across the world, one word at a time.
THE SEED PLANTERS The seed planters rise early to touch the dew kissed earth at first light. Ungloved callused fingers reach out to feel the ground in anticipation. The beauty of fertile soil grows fertile minds to cultivation. For the feeding of all nations and various different populations. Green foot trails travel throughout the regions of the world. America’s golden wheat to Mexico’s amazing maize. China’s rice paddy promises to the green soybean fields of Argentina. The coffee beans in East Africa to the potatoes crops in Russia. There are farmers, fishers, growers, grangers, and sustainers. Many women on small farms plant the fetus life as they carry their fetus to life. The indigenous growers differ from some commercial reapers. Monstrosity colossal like an ugly parasite hooks in way deeper. On the underside of purity too much herbicides, pesticides, and GMO’s. Preservatives that end up in our intestines and arterial walls. Starving and obese children resemble one another from famine to empty calories. Large bloated bellies malnourished or full of soil and seed legalities. Will the crop kidnappers of pestilence and disease leave enough to retrieve? The planting season draws a slow inhale until the exhalation at harvest. We are the problem solvers that battle many common foes. Brothers and sisters of earth wearing humanity colored clothes. The harvest does not worry at the hungry because at equality's table all are fed. The circumstances of feast or famine are often inside calculating heads. A paycheck or regulation away- the focus is on profit not who is starving. But the strength of harvest favors none indiscriminately. While the needy line the streets everywhere for free food handouts waiting. The battle for access and education is what this crisis keeps stating. All life begins with a seed the soil covering cocoon for germination. Tears of god rain from open skies to provide the beginning animation. Brenda Bunting is a poet, educator and facilitator currently residing in PG County, MD. She is a published author, appearing in anthologies and online print publications and performs in the DC, MD and VA area.
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PoemsThese poems were submitted for the 2020 WFD Poetry Competition Archives
December 2020
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