Today I ate war for breakfast.  

It tasted stale like old newspapers and when I bit down I heard a story that kept repeating itself.

I only eat it because I heard it’s good for me.  
“Most important meal of the day” they say.  
“Makes you stronger”

The sound of my spoon hitting the concave bowl like shots fired from a shaky finger,
unsure of the aim and even more unsure of the reason for the target.

By lunchtime I was hungry for more.  

I guzzled down a few hate crimes, they’re not the easiest things to swallow.
Innocent people don’t go down without a fight.  

I’m never sure why I torture myself with consuming all these things that are bad for me.  

“You are what you eat” they say.

Now I’m becoming ill from this junk food drowning in the pit of my stomach.  

I have to eat supper even though I’m afraid of what’s being served.  
Looks like it’s injustice with a side of inequality.  

My least favorite meal.

Tears march down my face following the fate of my food down the curve of my neck.
I feel nauseous from eating and guilty from being full.

That night I have heartburn like many nights before
but for the first time I smile.
Everything that was forced down from the day is
defying gravity,
defying the odds and
defying the evil so it can stay alive,
rise up again and eject from its captor.

I ***** war,
I ***** hate crimes,
I ***** injustice and inequality

They burn on the way up and they are not happy…….but I am.  

Every day we are fed news and are given a choice.
Will you swallow it down and let it pass or change the recipe and nourish the world?

Amanda Powell
1/22/2017