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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