food

every so often I'm surprised
by the truth that food
comes from
the ground

at the farmer's market
the farmer (herself)
sells you what
she picked
this morning

and if you know what you're doing
that chicken in the backyard
cluck cluck clucking the noon away
could pair nicely with dumplings
in tonight's
soup pot

we don't need factory-made
plastic/cardboard/upc code
packaging to surround
and contain
our food

how did we get so far
away from the way
that things
should be?