Just a Bag of Fries

A nearly full bag of fries in a trash bin is a little tempting to one not having eaten all day! Somewhere is a single mom scrubbing floors so her kids can eat a PB sandwich smeared with a little jelly, or maybe she will leave them with generic macaroni, a Kraft substitute easy for kids to fix alone - but no big juicy red apples because those would cost twice as much as packaged macaroni for several kids. At least cheese in little packets is calcium for bones. Or is it? When it’s the season to be jolly, potatoes are rather cheap and versatile. You can boil, fry, bake or microwave them. You can buy them flaked for cafeteria style mashed potatoes. But there is something special about salted French fries put into red containers bought at McDonald’s although they get tossed out barely eaten with half-drunk cokes in the same way that people throw money out the door almost any time they go out to eat. Eating out! That is such a luxury for someone who is poor. I’m ok; my belly has its fair share of fat. Folks like me can always last till we get home. But tonight while it is cold and dark, I hope someone will find those fries I spy sitting at the top of this garbage heap. I know they’d be a treat for someone truly starving, and they’d appreciate them more than he who was eating them when they were nice and hot. Even better, of course, I hope all those in need can find a way to feed their families and always have a place to lay their head down for the night. For the Garbage Poetry Contest of Anthony Slausen