see hunger second hand
saw a rebroadcast of BBC
show the starve of Niger
one child at a time
a dark infant
with fading eyes
i and we are told
by female reporter
that child died hours later...

i could not continue to watch
saw instead the view
my ears telling my thoughts
of pictures of the children
held by tearful mothers
i have seen before.

and this is not new
for those who have walked
where i have not walked
or have seen what I have not seen

camera shows dying family
wander aimless in the great desert
to look for food
or someone to give them food

the next latest drought
brought predictable pair
famine and pestilence
the year’s food gone
as soon the family may well be

even in midst of wealth
always will there be hungry
and my own thoughts
worth may be that
of another tinker’s damn
still i can only listen
to thin wails of thinning child
with the dread final bloat
no longer to absorb
food or water
now too late for this one little one

cues fill with thousands
for precious single cups of rice
walking waiting pleading

only one sense can i take
is weakly listen
to see is too much this night
to touch, smell, and feel this sight
is too much for me this night

and this is their night
every night…