Appled in the city

 

i wear my mask & shop in my grocery store

fresh fruits & veggies & locally produced meat 

on top of my list

i inhale the scents, imagining earth's fertile soil

basking in sun, spices & oils

but this routine chore is a madman's maze 

of confusing marketing pitches & items

as i am aware only too well

of what it takes to bring food to my home

there are deceptions at work in the process

to make the fruits super-sized & fresher than they are

to sell meats and milk as organic when they are not

to push for colorful packaging over bland & nutritionless items

at worst, we are vulnerable & misearable as chickens 

packed in industrial farm

I know that i chose this life in the city

so I go on inhaling industrial fumes 

while hopscotching over sugar-laced snacks & drinks

only too aware that others go hungry & live with the

foreshadowing of war above their homes  

i am blessed to protest in my own way

while continuing to educate myself about food safety & fraud 

if you can, speak up to your local community

before we all turn to codified shell-empty flower cuttings

Source:  That Fresh Look, Genetically Buffed

Posted for dVerse Poets Pub - Protest Poems - I have chosen the theme and issue of food safety and fraud.   Please join us when the pub doors open by 3pm EST.

The monsters

Are under my bed,  
                    curled tight every night-
behind cereal boxes, 
                    shoved deep in the closet- 
on top of shelves, 
                    just beyond my books- 


They are always noisy,
                   growling loud as 
hungry pangs in my stomach, 
                   angrily stomping the floor,
as if wretched with waiting-
                   slow burning of calories- 


Refusing to melt away, 
                   they chatter about tight 
jeans & hot bikini pieces.   
                   One day, I look hard 
in the mirror:  double chin, big arms, fat legs-    
                   a girl, who can't face her monsters- 

Image from Tumblr - Whydoes-Nobody-Understand 

Posted for D'verse Poets Pub:   Poetics - Monsters - Hosted by Brian Miller - I came across this image in Tumblr and it saddened me to read the blog of a young woman who hates herself and her body.   

Candle of hope

guilt bites our insides
at night when everything is still 


gnawing the lines of our stomach
with soured cream and bitter vinegar, 


maybe conscience is sleepwalking, 
but mother's scolding voice is sharp in the din, 


we bite our tongue, pursing red-lined lips, 
so we don't accidentally spill thorny secrets, 


eyes closed tight, so we don't see
cracks in the wall of the confessional box,   


we meander the wheat field and chapel hills
for a drop of blessed wine, the bloom of flower


fear of discovery and rejection cripples us,
making us afraid even of our shadows


black night is long and tortuous when the mind
is beset with doubts and uncertainties of our actions  


left or right, black or white, or maybe grey,
choices pull and push till we are lost in grinding wheels  


night turns to day, we find that life doesn't pause 
at stop signs nor waits for us to board the right bus 


we are selfish and flawed, yes, but there is a 
rainbow waiting inside all of us, an unlit candle of hope 


if we ask for forgiveness and in turn,
share that grace with others, our burden lightens 


and finally, we can forgive and love




our self 





Posted for:   Poetry Jam : Forgiveness
and Theme Thursday:   Life's Uncertainties  


Picture credit:  here

Forgive

turn a cheek

forgiving others,

bright lighthouse

~0~0

healing comes

forgiving ourselves,

open hands 

~0~0

He forgives

indifferent hearts,

gold sunrise

Posted for Haiku Heights - Forgive.   This is part of the National Poetry Writing Month.  I used the 3-5-3 syllabic count.

Picture credit:   here

Broken

empty cup, gnawing 

rumbling stomach, hands dirty

black volcanic ash 

~0~0

dirty brown cardboard, 

chair, bed and table, pieces  

broken furniture

  
Written for Few Miles Haiku Challenge 2012 for the month of February:   Day 26- Paint the Image -  Thanks for the comments and visits ~