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The Hunger Dialect We sip on tea flavored with righteousness indignation Add a touch of honey dripping in our own gluttony While we slowly speak the dialect of hunger We claim to be ambitious on solutions But truth says we have never met We spread lies evenly As if, evenness eliminates detection Hungry people see a world of excess who view starvation as avoidable Victim shaming is our specialty This dialect of deception is clearly recognizable The language we lie with is so bitter, even when dripping off of sweet religious lips We can’t feed everybody Here comes the lie We embrace the acceptance that doing nothing is equal to trying Yet we continuously knit together new excuses with old lies We shame hungry people on full stomachs and then we rewrite the narrative Imagine a world that throws away enough food to feed the hungry complaining about loss While the population who has food insecurity is waiting to be found Empty stomachs are not looking for empty words We need long term, right now, sustainable actions Let’s plant fruits and vegetables and let freedom be the gardener Allow people to pick fresh food from their community greenery Have community barbeques and well placed public pantries Donate to trusted restaurants so they can offer free meals to those in need Create central areas for restaurants to bring food instead of throwing it away Let’s reinvent how we distribute food Make it easier to ask without asking And no more pretty phrases for ugly things Starvation is not “food insecurity” Is death “breathing insecurity” Our appetite for synonyms seems high Hunger has many levels And a need to make hunger definable to all is needed Let’s make sure we are not using it to avoid saying words that sting Starvation is a “life insecurity” Action is the cure But we’re too busy slicing up excuses While hungry people look at an empty plate full of indecision We don’t even offer them a cup of hope Click on the file below to listen to Kim reading her poem: 
 Kim B Miller is an award winning poet. She is the Poet Laureate for Prince William County, VA. She is the First African American Poet Laureate for PWC. Kim performed nationally in person and internationally online. She is the author of several books. You can find more about Kim at www.kimbmiller.com
4 Comments
1/16/2021 11:31:51 pm
"....we’re too busy slicing up excuses 1/17/2021 06:15:22 am
Lovely poem. Using hunger as a metaphor is a great idea. Phrases intricately placed created a sense of ambiguity throughout this piece. Sometimes I literally thought you were speaking of eating, and then I’d see context revealing otherwise. I also love the call to action embedded here. Brilliant 🖊
Kim
1/17/2021 02:00:18 pm
Dee, thank you for embracing my words. Leave a Reply. |
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