Monday 31 October 2011

Feed the World

This Little Grain of Rice

This little grain of rice
Matured through time
Could nurture a generation
Feed the world

This little grain of rice
Moist with healthy yearning
Cultivates injured landscapes
Spread across the earth by diffusion
Is welcome saviour to huddled masses


This little grain of rice
Buys guns and ammunition
Loads weapons with fuller bellies
Keeps troops marching over barren terrain

This little grain of rice
Sends men off to distant wars
Brings them home from killing fields
Nourishes those mighty dreams in children
 
This little grain of rice
Entices people to worship on knees
Build marble pillar gods
Isolates wits with ergot nightmares
Golden altars are built in homage to a granule
As men and women alike reach for the diminutive
That tiny moment of death that defines existence


This little grain of rice
Calmly awaits the tender storm
Sheltered with attentive conventions
Protected by a father’s stern warnings
Floats as cerise boat at the crack of dawn

This little grain of rice
Lifted from tiny plastic bags
Scattered as cathedral bells ring
Forms an umbrella over anxious brides
Becomes fertility symbol of marriage vows

This little grain of rice
Wrapped in thin defensive shield
Becomes the mother of our appetites
Once that succulent affection is released
From golden husk veiled in sweet essence


I rolled my tongue along its velvet pouch
Savoured the natural sweetness
Offering the flavour of hope
Invented a tasteful saccharine language
Left hungry for more

 This little grain of rice
Fertilised with love
Could have fed my world
Forever


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