Read Poem: THEY WERE EATING LIVING THINGS, by Nicole Marie Kupper

A)

And the food-stamps were cut off

Three months or more

The children’s eyes were

Stuck in the black of their pupils

And the doctor said wait

And the CPS officer said wait

And JFS said take a hike to the FREE STORE

And the chicken they got there got real hot

Came alive in the old oven

And blew up.

B)

And she said

Mom, the food’s alive

It’s eyes are seeping

A sunrise contraption

Green cucumbers

The color of grass

The blades are strangling me

Chocolate like mother earth

The vegetables on TV dance so happily

Then why can’t we buy any food

Colors are everywhere why can’t we eat

Shh.. the mom said, you have a fever

Then in the store at the top of her lungs

The girl began to scream.

C)

The hungry children

Stood brown on the unsuspecting road

Walking up

Crossing at the…