Poem by Mike Douse

Loaves and Lilies
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There is this Chinese proverb stating that, when you have only
Two pennies left in the world, you should buy a loaf of bread
With one and a lily with the other. Which is a good illustration
Of an admirable message – feeding not only the stomach but
Also the soul… man cannot live by bread alone… those sorts of
Sentiments. But there is now a higher truth that involves altruism
And our common humanity: spend one of your pence on a loaf
For yourself and the other on a loaf for a faraway fellow human
Who is desperately hungry. Involving a lack of lily, conceivably
Compensated for by my sense of virtuousness – of having done
The ‘right thing’. But here, for me at any rate, there is a bit of a
Problem. Call me greedy or selfish if you must but I favour the
Lily before me to the temporarily satiated individual, unknown to
And distant from me, noble though my gesture might have been.
So, what to do? Possibly fourteen of us should share the lily in
Question between us and dispatch a baker’s dozen loaves to a
Zone of famine – and there are multitudes of those. But, here
Again, that doesn’t work for me: I want my lily, not a share in a
Lily but sole ownership thereof. Any other ideas? Well, how about
We clear the fields and we provide the grain and the agricultural
Implements and some fertiliser, thereby enabling those starving
People to produce loaves (possibly alongside lilies) themselves?
Which involves some initial sacrifice on my part (half a loaf is
Better than no bread) but, in a year or two, I would not need to
Go without my lily and my conscience would be clear. What’s
That – the rich landowners have seized the land? The villagers
Have eaten the seeds? There’s no money to fuel the equipment?
The fertiliser fails to meet environmental standards? Let us face
It, there are some questions without answers, some problems
Without solutions. I’ve certainly enjoyed my daily bread but I see
That my lilium convallium has finished flowering. It must now be
Deadheaded, pruned, cut back, and mulched in readiness for the
Year ahead and so I’ve just no time to think further about hunger.

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BIO: MIKE DOUSE has worked in education internationally since 1963. His publications include An Enjoyment of Education, One World One School, and numerous journal articles and conference presentations, along with four collections of his poems: Old Ground, Gone to Ground, Grounded and Groundhog Nights. He is living happily ever after in South Wales with his dear wife Patricia.