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Poem by Sylvia Dianne Beverly aka Ladi Di

2/6/2022

1 Comment

 
Homeless and Hungry

Where do I go to be safe?
Where, oh where do my children
     and I get a bite to eat during
     this pandemic?
Let it be told so someone can help
     our stomachs not to hurt.
So hungry, so cold at night!
My babies can not stop crying
Fear and pains reasons why.
Change gotta come for survival
     to remain.
Hard times drive us to be Homeless
     and Hungry
Wide-eyed Innocent Children stare
     in Wonderment
All babies know are severe pains of hunger
All babies want are a peanut butter and jelly
     ​sandwich
How about an apple, how about a
     banana, or sip of milk, some juice.
Hear babies’ feeble cry
Listen how they whimper.
Can you please show us way to
     shelter and food?
Food will take away pain
Unite to help rid our hunger, help
     Mothers stay sane.
Unity brings phenomenal change.
Thank you for awesome help you
     give to ex out gloom.
So my babies will stop crying
So my babies will have cover
     ​over head soon
Picture
Sylvia Dianne Beverly (Ladi Di) entered this poem about food waste in the 2018 World Food Day Poetry Prize competition.  A collection of her work is housed at George Washington University's Gelman Library.  Ladi Di celebrated the 40th Anniversary of Host Grace Cavalieri, reading on her show "The Poet and the Poem" at the Library of Congress Experience.

1 Comment

Poem by Milton Carp

2/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Hunger is the Norm

The child, a mere skeleton,
looks up with glazed over
eyes, and a blank stare.

I look back and wish to
help, too feed him,
​but it is too late.

His frail body
cannot absorb
nourishment. We are
looking
into the eyes of death.

He accepts it without
question. For, you see,
to him starvation and
death are the norm.
Picture
Milton says, “My poems are not entirely mine. They belong to the people and events of my passage through life. The sum of my life experiences, with more to come, I am sure. Once the dam is breached its contents flow unabridged. I also express myself through my art and craft work of dream catchers and mini sculptures. With the support of family and friends I continue to be creative and productive.”

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Poem by Joyce Williams Graves

2/6/2022

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MOM, NO MORE

Mom, please…
I know it’s not right to say,
But, Mom, there’s not enough food for
My six siblings and me to eat.
You see, I wanted another peanut butter
and jam sandwich last night.
But, you said, “Only one sandwich per child.”
It’s just too many of us to feed, Mom.
We are always hungry and sad.
Mom, I know you are doing your best,
But my stomach tells me it needs more food.
Maybe if you pray another hour,
God will hear your cry—and the growls of my stomach!
Hunger is not the best feeling for a child.
It’s not good for a growing child, you know.
All I think about is eating a good, hot meal.
I do believe it will get better one day.
But until it does,
Mom, please…
No more babies.

The cry of a seven-year-old boy--
Picture
Joyce Williams Graves is a native of Fredericksburg, Virginia.  She lives in Fort Washington, MD (over 20 years) with her husband Glen Graves. She is a woman of faith. She has been retired for 7 years. Ms. Graves worked at the Environmental Protection Agency for 22 years for the Office of Inspector General as an Information Technology (IT) manager. She is an Entrepreneur and works as an independent skincare consultant (Jafra International) for 8 years. She has been a US Notary Public for over 30 years. Ms. Graves is a playwright. Her play is called, “Cotton Field to Concert Hall.” It was performed at the Public Playhouse (2017) and the Kennedy Center (2018). Her hobbies are painting, writing poems, swimming, walking, playing chess. Ms. Graves is a Numismatist (Coins Collector).

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Poem by Anna Yin

2/6/2022

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Raspberries

On our bed
​we lie like flatfish.

Outside, stars grow older.

The moon, a white cocoon,
casts its image on the river.
In sparse shadows
a willow dangles.

Along the thorn fences
raspberries bleed.

​They remember
once being the fire
drawing the moth
flapping its wings
​to flames of love.
Picture
Anna Yin was Mississauga’s Inaugural Poet Laureate (2015-2017) and has authored five collections of poetry and “Mirrors and Windows” (Guernica Editions) in 2021. Her poems/translations have appeared at ARC Poetry, New York Times, China Daily, CBC Radio, World Journal etc. Anna won several poetry awards and also teaches Poetry Alive. Her website: annapoetry.com

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Poem by Faris Ahmed

2/6/2022

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Fractured Food System Blues
(a blues in 5 voices)

1.
They call me a small farmer, but I’ve got a big list of to-do’s
Feed the world… cool the planet…
Try walking just one day in my shoes
Cause, I got the Fractured Food System Blues

2.
I’m Jamaican, but I’m kneeling down on your land
Never Canadian, but what you’re eating was picked by these hands
No rights, no shelter, no heat in winter,
And the worst kinds of abuse
I've got the Fractured Food System Blues

3.
I’m a community garden, right in your neighborhood
I can connect friends & families, young & old
Leafy greens, peppers, tomatoes, of all sizes, shapes and hues
To wash away your Fractured Food System Blues

4.
We’re Food Policy Councils, now how do you put that in a song
Peoples voices and ideas that make decision-making strong!
But inclusive governance mechanisms will never make the news
We’ve got the Fractured Food System Blues

​5.
Agroecology and food sovereignty
We’re more than just words, or theories, or novelty
We’re the roadmap, and the journey, so go ahead and take your cues
We’re Transformative Pathways, for your Fractured Food System Blues.

Click on the file below to listen to the poem:
​Faris Ahmed is a poet from Ontario, Canada.
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Poem by Linda Pastan

2/6/2022

0 Comments

 
Hunger

In the battle between
hunger and
​thirst
​
thirst may win.
And yet the song
of the empty belly
​
fills the air
with its plaintive
notes.

There are
only losers
here.
Picture
Linda Pastan’s 14th book of poems, Insomnia, was published in October of 2015. In 2003 she won the Ruth Lilly Prize for lifetime achievement. Almost An Elegy will be published by Norton in 2022

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    About

    The poems that follow are powerful evidence that Poetry Speaks Back to Hunger!

    They were submitted to the 2021 World Food Day Special Call for Poems from North American Poets.  Several of these poems will be showcased in the coming weeks by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization and the Capital Area Food Bank.  

    Thanks to poets Josephine LoRe (Alberta, Canada), Brian Donnell James (Virginia, USA) and Martiza Rivera (Maryland, USA) for helping to assess the poems.  Thanks also to Rebecca Roach for donating nearly 1200 tree seedlings on behalf of the poets who submitted work.  And, a big thanks to poet Aaron R who helped to administer the Special Call. ​

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    Poets

    All
    Anna Mioduchowska
    Anna Yin
    Antoni Ooto
    Aressa Williams
    Argos MacCallum
    Bartholomew Barker
    Bhikshuni Weisbrot
    Brenda Gunn
    Brittany Sabatino
    Buffy Aakaash
    Cindy M. Buhl
    Cleveland Wall
    Dan Bissonnette
    David Bartlett
    David Mook
    Diane Sahms-Guarnieri
    Diane Wilbon Parks
    Dianna L. Grayer
    Doris Diosa Davenport
    Eileen Trauth
    Eldon Winston
    Elijah Pringle
    Elizabeth Black
    Ellen Bass
    Faris Ahmed
    Gavin Barrett
    Grace Cavalieri
    Heather Meloche
    Heidi Mordhorst
    Henry Farkas
    Henry Victor
    Jamie Brown
    Janet Cannon
    Joan McNerney
    John Guzlowski
    John L. Dutton II
    Joseph Caperna
    Joyce Williams Graves
    Justin Johnson
    Keith Inman
    Laurel Chambers
    Lauren Camp
    Linda Fischer
    Linda Nemec Foster
    Linda Pastan
    Linda Wolfe
    Lori Heninger
    Margaret Patricia Eaton
    Marilyn Fishman
    Mark Fishbein
    Megha Sood
    Milton Carp
    Molly Ponkevich Burack
    Nityananda Khanal
    Patricia Trentacoste
    Patsy Asuncion
    Rg Cantalupo
    Richard Stukey
    Rosemary Klein
    Ryan Gibbs
    Sally Zakariya
    Sandra Rivers-Gill
    Serena Agusto-Cox
    Shan Overton
    Sharon Olson
    Sistah Joy
    Stewart Acuff
    Susan McMaster
    Sylvia Dianne Beverly Aka Ladi Di
    Teresa Méndez-Quigley
    Theresa Tull McGinnis
    Thomas Schuelke
    Waqas Rabbani
    Willeena Booker
    Wynne Morrison

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  • Home
  • Art Auction to Alleviate Hunger
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      • 2021
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      • 2018
    • Maryland Poets
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  • About
    • About the Initiative
    • Initiative Founder
    • Advisory Board
  • News & Blog
  • Young!
    • Poems by Young Poets
    • Videos
    • Materials for Teachers
  • Library
    • Extent of Hunger >
      • Global Hunger: Progress & Challenges
      • Hunger in the US
    • Historic Accounts of Hunger >
      • Africa
      • The Americas
      • Asia
      • Europe and Russia
    • Historical Poems
    • Interviews
    • Recent highlights
  • Contact/Submit/Take Action
    • Submission Guidelines
    • Call to Action
    • Resources & Donations >
      • Global resources
      • US resources
      • Maryland resources