First Taste Of Prosperity  (Marc Kaminsky)

Instead of the usual rations
each of us was given seven cartons of
Wrigley’s Spearmint Gum

we chewed
until the sugar was out of it
then spit it out

unfolding and working through
new sticks
at the rate of fifty an hour

trying
to outpace the growling
of our stomachs.

I watched refugees
walk along, dropping
rubbery pellets and silver

gum wrappers, ceaselessly
chewing.
And though we worked our jaws

till they were numb
who could really silence
his hunger?

When would they give us rice?
No one asked.
But how hopefully we greeted

each convoy of jeeps!
The GIs beeped in their good-natured way
and waved their arms

there was a chorus of
“Hi!
How are you?”

and lines of frightened
beggars
immediately formed—

they were barraged with
Wrigley’s
with a shower of

thousands of packs
of spearmint chewing
gum.

Already
the American century was carpeting Japan
with peculiar abundance

the road to the A-bomb ward
was now paved
with silver.

1. ourcatastrophe reblogged this from midnight-hour-poetry
2. ourcatastrophe likes this
3. bluebluesea likes this
4. midnight-hour-poetry posted this