FEEDING THE FAT CATS

by Paul Burgess

Republican bill cuts food aid for elderly, low-income, & disabled Americans and increases funding for their own version of Supplemental Nutrition and Assistance Program. —Ann Telnaes, May 2

Ensure that butter fills the bowls of batter, 
And watch the oven while the mixture bakes.
The fattest cat will soon be getting fatter 
Once fed these massive overfrosted cakes.
 
Then, offer up your children's hamster pet,
The cuddly thing with white and brownish fur,
And thank the Lord the fattest cat you've met
Has deigned to eat your food and give a purr.
 
Now, find a book of ancient magic words
And learn the phrase you'll have your family say 
To turn yourselves to tiny, harmless birds
That Mister Fats will swallow as his prey.
 
And soon you'll be a bone-and-feather lump 
Excreted from your idol's noble rump.

Paul Burgess, an emerging poet, is the sole proprietor of a business in Lexington, Kentucky that offers ESL classes in addition to English, Japanese, and Spanish-language translation and interpretation services. He has recently contributed work to Blue Unicorn, Light, The Orchards, The Ekphrastic Review, Pulsebeat, The New Verse News, Lighten Up On Line, The Asses of Parnassus, and several other publications

UNEMPLOYED

by David Radavich

Cartoon by Jen Sorensen

WASHINGTON — Republicans muscled a pared-back agriculture bill through the House on Thursday, stripping out the food stamp program to satisfy recalcitrant conservatives but losing what little Democratic support the bill had when it failed last month. It was the first time food stamps had not been a part of the farm bill since 1973. --NY Times, July 11, 2013

The only thing
I can withhold
is my body.

If there’s nothing
to take home,
no living wage,

no mortgage
no health care
no schooling,

the fat cats
will need to eat
their own gold.

Work for sawdust
is a transaction
I refuse.

As the sun
goes down
alone

I can live
and breathe
my blood

so long
as it lasts.


David Radavich’s recent collections include America Bound: An Epic for Our Time (2007), Canonicals: Love’s Hours (2009), and Middle-East Mezze (2011).  His plays have been performed across the U.S., including six Off-Off-Broadway, and in Europe.  His new collection, The Countries We Live In, will come out later this year.