---

i watched an old lady
mash the crumbs
of a forgotten meal
into the back of a fork
and feed them to a little boy

she did not pontificate
about the needless wasting of food
nor the shortage of morsels in the world
she did not scold
and berate and say,
“see what you’ve wasted, here”

she did not begrudge the plate for it’s hard surface
nor the utensil for the space between it’s limbs.

she just mashed crumbs
into the back of a fork
and fed them to a man in the making

and she smiled

with her lips and her eyes
and held the fork steady
while he licked it clean

and he sang while he ate.

 

---