CHILD'S PLAY IN THE SHADOW OF THE SUN
V
(1) Mealtime in Stanley
On this day
as on every day
when meal time came around
I am standing with an empty bowl
cupped in my hands
in line waiting
for the daily bread allotment
which really was a cup of rice
that this day surprised me
with a touch of alien colour,
bits of red scattered through
the wet white kernels
dropped into my bowl,
cabbage said my mother
in line behind me
while I checked out the bits of leaf
and then,
without hesitation,
wolfed the day's ration down.
(2) Shame
V
(1) Mealtime in Stanley
On this day
as on every day
when meal time came around
I am standing with an empty bowl
cupped in my hands
in line waiting
for the daily bread allotment
which really was a cup of rice
that this day surprised me
with a touch of alien colour,
bits of red scattered through
the wet white kernels
dropped into my bowl,
cabbage said my mother
in line behind me
while I checked out the bits of leaf
and then,
without hesitation,
wolfed the day's ration down.
(2) Shame