we are starving for health
in a land of plenty
feeding us french fries
and big macs
gorged to the point of sickness
on too much of the wrong thing
how do you rationalize 9-year-olds
already shopping plus sizes
and how do you balance
nutritional inequity
how other mothers
watch their childrens’ bellies swell
with starvation, as their bodies
digest themselves in desperation
yes, hunger kills
and but for grace
or an accident of birth
I am here
where our children’s bodies
bloat with gluttony
on what balance sheet
does this even out
and how can we fix this?
Susan Daniels Poetry 
That is the question worth a sum of money that has no total. The plenty is a question I find morbidly interesting. And in fact, that’s what that shipwrecked post was about. I dunno how to answer, but I do figure that if we don’t ask the questions, we won’t try. So here’s to you asking Susan.
Thanks, Trent. Hope we get answers soon…
I love the great opening image; “starving for health in a land of plenty”. The accepted, mainstream north american diet is unhealthy and is resulting in chronic obesity. A raw food/vegan lifestyle is much better.
Absolutely, it is, and there is a spectrum of healthier choices in between the two, as well!
Only a soul with a deep sense of empathy could have crafted this! Portions of your poem remind me of Chinua Achebe”s poem _ Refugee mother and child
http://www.users.globalnet.co.uk/~lavie/dreamwine/achebe1.html
Thank you, Noel. Heartbreaking.
Wow–when did you sneak that link in…that poem, oh, good god it hits deep.
There are certain things in this world I dislike, and this is one, something that… Should.Not.Be.
No, never. There is something so inherently cruel and irrational in how resources are distributed.
Yes indeed.
Thanks, Julie. There is no way to justify this.
you paint a stark truth & ask a powerful question with a deft hand. masterfully written, Susan
Thank you, Stacy. Wish I did not have to.
This can never get balanced in any balance sheet … awareness is needed … well drafted piece !!!
Thank you & I agree.
“as their bodies digest themselves in desperation” such a sad telling line and can, it seems to me, be applied to the overweight as well as the starving. I’ll sit and watch people out in public (yes, I’m one of those old men) and it seems at least 75% of those who walk pass are overweight and it is the saddest when they are kids; disregarding the health issues, we all know how the overweight kids are treated. Sad. Leo
Yes–they are both in here, and the gross imbalance of resources is saddening and sickening. I do maintain that starvation kills faster, but they both kill, which is why both are in this poem. I wrote this this summer, after watching “Supersize Me” in the same day I read a poem of Noel’s about children starving to death. I left it in drafts forever, not sure if it was too emotional a reaction. Decided, finally, to just let it go as is.
Good decision.
Thanks, Leo!
good one. if you have an unhealthy population the medical community can make more money…hahaha.
😉 true. I think they would rather make less money.
The ultimate irony, Susan, and so piercing.
Yes–so sad.