"What the Food Stamp" Sees by Susan Scheid

 What the Food Stamp Sees

Honey, I know you’re hungry.
You think I don’t hear your stomach growl,
even from the depths of your bag?
I see the way you look through the windows
of the fancy restaurant, plates piled high
with half-eaten meals you could only dream of.

I know I don’t hold much promise--
a bag of rice, some milk, perhaps
a fresh head of cabbage and some apples--
just enough to quiet the echoes
that rumble through you.

But who am I, a mere piece of paper,
to tell you how you feel?
The fear, the shame. I see it in your eyes
and the way your spine collapses
when you pull me out.

​I can only tell you
what you already must know.
That I am merely a band-aid
when you deserve so much more.

Susan Scheid is a poet and literary activist who lives in Washington, DC. Susan honed her craft while working for the last 30 years as a Legal Secretary. She was inspired by her father reading poems to her at bedtime and by stories of him reading poetry to his fellow wounded soldiers in medical hospitals during WWII. Her first book, After Enchantment, was influenced by her love of fairy tales. Susan’s poetry has also appeared in a number of literary journals and anthologies.

Hunger Poems