The only time I've ever felt hunger
was when I fasted for 48 hours
in the 11th grade
just for attention
After I ate my first pop-tart
I pooped so hard I got angry at God
I got angry at God
The boy blessed enough
to be a picky eater
In 19 years of being well fed
the hardest thing I've ever
had to swallow is my own pride
They say if you feed a man a fish
he will eat for a day
Well I've never caught a fish in my life
and half the time I'm too afraid
to order a pizza because I think
I'll mess it up
So tell me why when I go to restaurants
my taste buds feel entitled to slaves
Why do they whip servers into making
my meat medium well
My teeth have never tasted blood
My mouth doesn't know dry
I've never dreamt of food
because I don't know life without it
But at least once a week I get mad
that McDonald's doesn't deliver
I once watched a cow get slaughtered
and I didn't blink an eye
because I could already taste her in my mouth
In the same year my history class
raised money for nine months to buy one goat
to send to a village I've never heard of
The contrast is cruel
I can remember the last sound the cow made
but I can't remember the sounds that made
up the village's name
or its people
So I hope you'll understand that
when I utter the unfathomable phrase
"I'm starving"
all I can taste in my mouth is shame