Milk

Tin and skin
One for the love of money
One for the love of life.
 
That soft and gentle breast so full
to feed the infant mouth
that sucks on mother's essence
so innocent, and pure,
as yet untouched by capitalist hand.

Compare to tin so cold,
unyielding metal, giving of its milky substance,
BGH entrapped perhaps,
a hint of things to come?

The breast, so sweet, fulfilling of the bond
between two souls,
this liquid life enriched with love,
propelled by eager tot
with each successive gulp.

Look beyond the bottom line, and see
tomorrow's child
who waits with open mouth
and yearns to suck the only milk we know.
There can be only one,
the milk of human kindness.

~Malcolm F. Davidson  © 1998

 ** BGH ** Bovine Growth Hormone
 
Painting by Elisabeth Slettnes