Consumed, One Way Or Another Poem by Nika McGuin
Consumed, One Way Or Another
when the war of man vs. food is done
it's hard to tell, by whom its been won
green soldiers lie fallen like broken statues
as their murky fluids surround them
bacteria swoop in like ravenous vultures
picking away at their remains
until all that's left are strange clouds
mottled black and white, reeking of death
they evoke both, extreme disgust
and wonder. this death too
is another part of life
and we are all its crops
our parents sprout, bloom, produce fruit
which eventually falls from the tree
to be consumed by the world
The opening bit uses the analogy of a battlefield, however the green soldiers aren't men, they're broccoli. Thus bacteria, mottled black and white, takes over them. This same thing happens to man but its an inward occurrence rather than outward. That is, unless that person really is picked apart by a vulture (which sometimes are mottled black and white as well.)
The closing bit, compares our births and our lives to that of fruits or vegetables, pointing out that we are all life's crops. Also, that we'll be consumed one way or another. Just as fruit will be consumed regardless of whether you eat it or not.
Your comment shows how the figurative language created a tight web of incidents showing eating habits in stark detail. I didn't fully understand the players in the opening battle scene but I understood the conflict. (This section is, in part, a narrative poem, and your telling of the story works so well, you might like to try your hand at a narrative poem. I did get the closing of poem with the living generations on earth - vegetable and animal - all careening toward the same fate which is CONSUMPTION - The Fate of the World.
Those who plant may not reap always... It is the progeny that enjoys the benefits.... The fruits of the sweat and labour of our parents and forefathers, now we consume without much thought for them... A metaphorical write, Nika! ! Enjoyed!
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
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4/25/2024 5:27:04 AM # 1.0.0.1119
We should eat to live and not live to eat. Sooner or later just like fruits and vegetables we are devoured. A never ending cycle of life. Good.