Only A Recession

After hunger
two days long,
sitting happy before
a plate of beans,

I delicately slit
each kernel with
my incisors,

let my tongue run
twitching with joy
across the texture
of the meat.

— Milton Acorn

Known as “The People’s Poet,” Milton Acorn (1923–1986) was the author of ten books and winner of the Governor General’s Award for poetry. Reprinted with permission from The Edge of Home.

Each month Bren Simmers selects a poem by an Island poet for The Buzz.