The Truly Poor Do Not Eat

[PrinceMyshkin]

The truly poor do not eat
as we do. We eat
for pleasure. We eat
out of boredom. We eat
to assuage our grief. We even,
at times, eat out of hunger!

Not that we are ever far enough
from food to feel hunger
as of the moment, but we imagine
that we might feel it tomorrow
or a week from now.

We have hideous imaginings
of our dinner being delayed
or of some favourite food
becoming scarce.

But the truly poor do not eat
as we do. They eat,
when they can,
to survive.





Jerry Newman © August 1, 2007

[manolia]

I can't really tell you if this is a good poem :blush: .I am not a poetry reader but this i can tell you..the theme is very touching and very real

[motherhubbard]

It’s horrible isn't it? So very heartbreaking. In America one in five children goes to bed hungry, and I know it's worse everywhere. I think about this all the time. When I'm at school with the kids I look around and think one in five are hungry. It takes the pleasure out of little luxuries, as it should. I can't justify excessiveness because of this fact. I hope that everyone’s toes are so sore that they are making plans to contribute of their money or time in someway to help the needy.

Your poem was excellent.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I can't really tell you if this is a good poem :blush: .I am not a poetry reader but this i can tell you..the theme is very touching and very real

May I say first that there is no need to :blush: when expressing your own candid, sincere reactions to anything? Of course there are people everywhere with their own ideas of what a 'poem' is or a good movie or the 'correct' political or religious viewpoint, and some writers or speakers do govern themselves in the hope of pleasing those people.

I don't. Frankly, I don't think this one satisfies my own ideal of what a really good poem should be. There's no music in it; no memorable imagery... But the thought deserved to be expressed, I felt...

[CdnReader]

The most amazing thing, Jer, is that they may not have eaten today, and yet they still smile and they still sing and dance. I don't mean to minimize or to generalize, but that, to me, was a true revelation.

[Granny5]

Prince, thank you for the poem. We come from one of the poorest states in the United States and we see first hand how much some suffer. Although everyone I knew growing up was considered poor by most standards, we were taught to share what little we had. My children have been taught the same and I'm very proud of them for teaching their children the same. And I am proud of your poem. Anything that make others aware of the situation is appreciated. Music and imagery are sometimes for the reader. And it does have music and evokes memories of some children I knew growing up.

[PrinceMyshkin]

Prince, thank you for the poem. We come from one of the poorest states in the United States and we see first hand how much some suffer. Although everyone I knew growing up was considered poor by most standards, we were taught to share what little we had. My children have been taught the same and I'm very proud of them for teaching their children the same. And I am proud of your poem. Anything that make others aware of the situation is appreciated. Music and imagery are sometimes for the reader. And it does have music and evokes memories of some children I knew growing up.

Thank you, dear friend. I have many reasons to be proud of my own children, but chief among them is that they are sensitive to the plight of others.

[Sweets America]

Prince,
When I read your poem, I thought 'It is so true'. And I think that it shows that your poem is a good one to me anyway, because with writing it, you have reached the aim of making the readers stop the course of their lives for a moment and think of this situation. So I find a beauty in your poem, for this reason especially.

I also liked Granny's response to this. And about being taught to share, it is often said that the ones who have less things to share actually share more than those who have plenty of things.

[dramasnot6]

I love it Prince, it has a great message.

[Virgil]

I don't know if I should comment but I've seen a number of poems like this recently and everyone seems to ooh and ahh.. I frankly don't see the poetry here. It looks like flat prose to me, and just because it has a noble sentiment again does not make it poetry. It comes across as maudlin and reminds me of a greeting card emotion. Where's the originality of thought, where's the complexity of emotion, where is the charged language? What's in this poem that isn't stamped out by some journalist in a news article? Even a journalist takes you into some specificity of a person and place. This is all sentimental abstraction. I've seen you do much better than this, Prince.

Sorry if I'm a little harsh, but I don't see the point of just patting ourselves on the back for everything we present.

[PrinceMyshkin]

I don't know if I should comment but I've seen a number of poems like this recently and everyone seems to ooh and ahh.. I frankly don't see the poetry here. It looks like flat prose to me, and just because it has a noble sentiment again does not make it poetry. It comes across as maudlin and reminds me of a greeting card emotion. Where's the originality of thought, where's the complexity of emotion, where is the charged language? What's in this poem that isn't stamped out by some journalist in a news article? Even a journalist takes you into some specificity of a person and place. This is all sentimental abstraction. I've seen you do much better than this, Prince.

Sorry if I'm a little harsh, but I don't see the point of just patting ourselves on the back for everything we present.

No apology necessary. Of course I'd prefer that my every effort be appreciated, as I'd like everyone who encounters one of my children and grandchildren to be struck by their beauty and intelligence but even in this latter case, it doesn't always happen. As writers we have a three-fold obligation: to our readers; to the craft we love; and to ourselves. We won't always succeed in all three, and sometimes in none of them, but - there's always the next poem.

Thanks.

[Virgil]

No apology necessary. Of course I'd prefer that my every effort be appreciated, as I'd like everyone who encounters one of my children and grandchildren to be struck by their beauty and intelligence but even in this latter case, it doesn't always happen. As writers we have a three-fold obligation: to our readers; to the craft we love; and to ourselves. We won't always succeed in all three, and sometimes in none of them, but - there's always the next poem.

Thanks.

Oh thank you for understanding. I was hoping I didn't come across as too harsh and upset you. I've really liked many of your other poems.

[Pendragon]

But the truly poor do not eat
as we do. They eat,
when they can,
to survive.


Heart grabbing, true, and a very great ending.

Pen

http://i94.photobucket.com/albums/l108/AbsalomKane/Smilies/PuppyLove.gif

[symphony]

Poverty is a cliche in bengali literature, which is why anything I write on poverty doesnt seem strong enough to me. However I try, it doesnt get any closer to the real hunger, the longing, the strife, the struggle, or the despair.
A look at this poem reminded me of one of my favourite bengali poets, Sukanta Bhottacharya, (anything like this actually makes me think of him) who voiced these struggles really well. One of his most famous words were--

A burning hunger gives a prosaic world--
The fullmoon poses itself as a loaf of bread.
Not a great translation I admit, but it was somewhat like this.
Its a shame that a voice like this faded out so fast. He died at 21. But anyway, his is a voice that echoed throughout the decades of bengali literature.

I'm sorry if i went a bit off topic... I just couldnt help.