The child of eight opens the refrigerator door
and while looking inside at the great expanse of nothingness,
she asks,
“Mom-ma,
are we poor?
Mother replied, “No,
what gave you that notion?
I get paid tomorrow
and though it’s not much,
just a drop in the ocean,
the food stamps will make it stretch
for another month.
***
Now years have passed.
And there is another child that is opening the refrigerator door.
And while looking inside with hungry eyes
he asks,
“Mom-ma,
are we poor?
But his mother doesn’t answer,
she just cries.
D. Thurmond / JEFalcon
11-01-2021