Hamberder Shutdown

Fear and uncertainty

Hang heavy on the air

Like pollution

Clogging the lungs

Of industry

When does it end

The days drag on

Reason is shut down

Order is in ruin

Everything that once was

Is now gone

Fading rapidly

In the memory of sanity

When does it end

Hunger settles in

A ravening bird

Folding its wings

Contentedly

Too comfortable

In our bellies

We ration

We fill our cupboards

Leaving bellies empty

Carefully

Like a tightrope walker

Across a bed of glass

Food insecurity

Already a familiar guest

At our tables

Now an intruder

That we can't make leave

And still we ration

Not sure if that little

Tiny

Bit of hope

Will come through

Next time

When does it end

But are we alone

In this dance

Of uncertainty

Who's going to work today

With no pay to bring home

To hungry baby birds

With mouths open wide

Begging for a scrap

Hoping

For just a

Single

Drop

Of milk

Who is facing eviction

Whose children will go without

Who stands in soldarity with us

Lacking

Unwillingly sacrificing

For a fruitless, silly cause

How long do these days

Drag on

When does it end

Will I be homeless tomorrow

When does it end

Will I go hungry when my rations run dry

When does it end

Will I be evicted

When does it end

Will I lose my only means of survival

When does it end

Do you care who you hurt

When does it end

Will the certainty

Promised to me

Be taken away

When does it end

Will the protection

Of being American

Desert me

When does it end

When

Does

It

End

While somewhere

In alabaster halls

With gilded plates

And sparkling chandeliers

A fat, hateful man

The one responsible

For this uncertainty

Serves McDonald's

To his guests

Deluded to believe

It's some grand gesture

While the rest of us look on

Wishing we could afford

Even one

Single

Hamberder