Poem by Dan Bissonnette

Hunger

Never have I needed,
to worry about food.
I always find a nibble,
when I am in the mood.

We have turkey at Thanksgiving
and again on Christmas Day.
I give it not a second thought,
this simply is our way.

My tummy sometimes grumbles,
but I quickly find a fix.
I grab some bread and butter
and add things to the mix.

I’ve never been so hungry,
that I’d eat most anything.
I am amongst the lucky ones,
I’ve never felt the sting.

When I was just a youngster,
of the hungry I knew not.
Of people living on the street,
I gave no second thought.

When I reached my teenage years,
I saw them while downtown.
Arm stretched out and begging,
on their face the saddest frown.

That frown it would turn upright,
when a quarter I would give.
They knew that with a few more,
they’d find a place to live.

A humble place to hang their hat
and food to fill their gut.
If even for a short time,
they have escaped their rut.

​Now food banks for the many,
soup kitchens left and right.
People sharing...people caring,
to relieve the hunger’s might.

I hail from North Bay, Ontario, Canada. I first started writing poems somewhat seriously shortly after Covid hit in 2020. I discovered this site when a friend of mine posted one of his poems here. His name is Don Hamaliuk.

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