Meals of Ashes
How many times
Have I unintentionally
Poisoned myself
A question that goes
Along with how many
Pounds of earth will
I have eaten in my
Lifetime
Carbon on the grill,
Dust of dirt over
Fruit purchased in the
Wild or in the store,
Condensation nuclei
I breathe or drink
In, after the raindrops
And substance
For snow ice cream
Is formed
The world’s morsels
That I have consumed
Because I thought of
Other things,
Because the present
Need was urgent
(That is, exigent):
You know, I’d gulp
The same in order to
Pay attention to the
Denizens and not so
Much malleant detritus
Of my dusty planet
clcouch123 
August 22, 2016 at 7:51 am
oh dear!! that first stanza is gripping and the cascade is engrossing and enlightening. indeed we are in a dirty earth and we ate its dirt, everyday. yet that is how we truly live.
great, deep, poetry, brother!
August 23, 2016 at 4:02 pm
Sister, thank you! I don’t know how I got to start writing this. I was thinking about how some concerns are much more important than others. I guess needs have priorities, after all. Speaking of which, I’ve been reading about the situation with the Philippines and the UN. I hope you and yours are all right. You are in my prayers.
August 24, 2016 at 5:16 am
Oh yeah. There is an on-going PURGE here against drug addicts and drug pushers here. The ugly side is that those who are poor drug pushers and addicts are killed. Those ‘rich’ ones were either jailed or investigated or have already left the country. I think even in killing the society can never be fair.
August 24, 2016 at 8:29 pm
This is the news I read. Only I am here, and you are there. Sister, please be safe. I pray for your safety and those close to you and for the nation. A purge of people sounds terrible. I know for some that is an agenda, usually as a matter of politics and power. I grieve for the poor in any situation.