Poem by Sue Budin

​Rescuers
 
Rescuers on fork-lifts bring us boxes
Filled with peanut butter, tuna, rice.
 
Rescuers answer phones, say
thank you to those who bring bags
To the warehouse door.
 
Rescuers drive trucks to churches,
Safe houses, community centers,
Places where the poor are given
Food, a smile, and a promise of more.
 
Rescuers stand on cold December days
Outside of grocery stores,
Asking for donations—a can
Or a dollar, while music from a local station
Warms them with golden oldies.
 
Rescuers bring healthy snacks to children
In summer where after basketball or
Puppet-making, their sweet bellies growl.
 
We are all
rescuers and rescued.
Kindness is an antidote to fear.
Hot soup, a sandwich fills us,
Both the giver and the given
With gratitude.

Sue Budin is a retired librarian who volunteers with Food Gatherers, a food rescue program in Ann Arbor, Michigan.  She also works with English as a Second Language students, and is a docent for children at the University of Michigan Art Museum.

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