Pushing Food Around the Plate

Pushing Food Around the Plate

He said, "Eat me,"

and they said it was a hard teaching.

Not a metaphor, not a symbol—

a command, raw and strange.

So they did what we all do:

pushed the food around the plate,

took polite bites,

left the core untouched.

We are good at this—

avoiding what’s meant to fill us,

choosing the garnish instead,

the spice instead of the meat.

Sunday mornings, we sip at the cup,

nibble the edges of the loaf,

wonder if we can skip the meal

and still feel full.

But starvation has a way

of sneaking in, unnoticed,

turning us pale, hollow-eyed,

hungry for something we can’t name.