|
YES, THEY WERE HUNGRY I still have pay stubs from McDonald’s where I worked in the 1960s in high school. I made $1.10 per hour. We were allowed to eat for free during breaks. We gobbled burgers and fries. At Kentucky Fried Chicken, we were able, at closing, to take home buckets of extra cooked chicken. It was the way of life in Northern Virginia. When I got drafted and chose the Navy in 1972 to avoid Vietnam, I was assigned to ships that traveled around the world. On one cruise, we circumnavigated Africa, visited Iran, Pakistan, Bahrain, Sri Lanka, and sailed through the Red Sea to the Mediterranean. The first stop across the Atlantic had been in Dakar, Senegal along the northwestern coast of Africa. It was the blank-eyed, homeless people living in cardboard boxes on street corners that woke me up. Barely clothed boys surrounded us begging for help. We were careful to protect our Kodak cameras and wallets. I’d never heard of a famine before. During many port stops, it was the same: poor, homeless and hungry people were everywhere in struggling countries. Today, as I sit with my family and enjoy the abundant dinners and view the full cabinets of food at home, I take each bite with a prayer of thanks.  Tom Donlon lives with his family in Shenandoah Junction, WV. He earned an MFA from the American University in DC and was awarded a chapbook, Peregrine, by the Franciscan University in Steubenville, OH. He has received Pushcart Prize nominations and a fellowship from the WV Commission on the Arts.
0 Comments
Break Bread Break bread here, bake bread. Mill the flower, knead the dough. Tend the yeast, you are welcome here. As you are, at this simple feast. Set the table, if you are able. Help with dishes, if your heart wishes. For you are we, you will always be. Welcome right here, for we are eternity.  Jay Rose Ana is a Worcestershire poet, originally from the heart of the Midlands in the United Kingdom. She explores the world from her laptop and writes her words through lived experiences, a deep soul, and a creative imagination. Jay Rose Ana is hostess of Words Collide Poetry Open-Mic and The Poetic Podcast. Her work can be found at www.jayroseana.com
After My Prayers for me, I often have time to look out the window at the tree-trimmed easy lush nook of my city and ask why the rest aren’t as lucky, that people go hungry, so many lining up for food, that some in the world are starving. I usually just stop there. Too horrible and complex. Last night, headlights flickered through that delectable foliage to my pretty-perfect apartment, like a Morse code, which I never took the time to learn, and my silly woke sister said it read: Look at the plenty I have given. And all I ask is that you share. Jay Carson taught for many years at Robert Morris University where he was a founding advisor to the literary magazine, Rune. He has published more than 100 poems and a number of short stories in local and national journals, magazines, and collections. Jay is also the author of Irish Coffee (Coal Hill Press) and The Cinnamon of Desire (Main Street Rag).
Teach a Man to Fish Teach a man to fish- fixes it all- Right? No? Wasn't that what they taught us? Give a man a fish and he eats for a day. Teach a man to fish and he eats for a lifetime. Sounds simple right? Well, what if there is no fishing rod? What if there is no fishing line. What if there is no ocean or any fish left to catch, or stove to cook on, or knife to clean and filet them so? What if there was no more hunger? Or belly to fill? Or need to nourish? What if the man knows how to fish but chooses not to? What if that man hates fish. Maybe, he's allergic-what's next? Do we force-feed him the tuna raw? Like an obstinate child. Sent to his room without dinner, with hunger still unsatisfied. We think we know what's best. Open up, chew and swallow. *Form- Clicks Syllabics- CLXXX (Roman Numeral for 180) (9 syllables per line, 5 stanzas, 4 lines per stanza, 180 syllables) Never Expect Too Much If only someone had saved me the last slice of pizza... Optimistic, but naive. But, wouldn't it be nice? A friendly hand to hold a door. I beg your pardon. Oh, what for? Never expect too much from people and you won't be disappointed. Always assume the worst outcome, you'll be sad, but remain undaunted. The world's an unkind place, when you're waiting in a line. When shortages and overreactions seem to monopolize our time. Or are we outta time? I suspect the latter. It's inherent, baked within the batter. If you were listening to me in the first four stanzas, this about sums it up. If you were expecting more, sorry to end this so abrupt. *Form-drabble  Vincent J Calone is a New Formalist poet. He studied under Lewis Turco- author of the "New Book of Poetic Forms" on New England Press.
Poet, playwright, actor, director- he wears different many hats but the message remains the same- Why do we do what we do? How can we change it? And how can we learn, grow and evolve? Vincent's writes and posts a new poem everyday on Raven Wire Poetry Prompts on Facebook continuously since 08/01/22 based off on the daily poetry prompt. Vincent is proud to be part of the writing collective. |
Suggestions & IdeasTake a look at some of the writing prompts to get inspired! Archives
March 2025
Poets
All
|
RSS Feed