LJIdol Wheel of Chaos Week 1 - Quality

[eeyore_grrl]

LJIDOL Wheel of Chaos week 1 prompt: QUALITY
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		Quality over Quantity

Quality over Quantity is easier said than done
when food is a desert and cola is cheap
“nutritionally dense food only,”  we tout
                                  we crow
proud of ourselves for having money
                              education
                              time
as if
as if it grew from the earth
         & we all have equal access
well, i'm here to tell you
         it's lies
         all of it lies
none of it but the fruit grows on trees
& we hoard like villains in a disney movie
         doling out poison
         dressed pretty in needed calories
giving the people nothing but disdain when they bite the candy apple
& goddess forbid
         the poor treat themselves
         to anything else
         fresh meat
         fresh veggies
         or horror of horrors: a cake
we judge and we judge and we judge
harshest critics of our sisters
meanest to our brothers
we judge them all
        secretly eating snickers in our bathrobes
hypocrites R us in america
we like to judge
               to think we are better
we like to think that we CHOSE
        Quality over Quantity of calorie
but really our social status chose
         for us

Watch on YouTube

Comments

[adoptedwriter]

Excellent point.

[used_songs]

Nice! And very true. People get so sanctimonious about what other people eat.

[krispykritter]

A very timely topic. Great entry! Nice to be in touch again!

[drippedonpaper]

So true.

It drives me insane when people say things like "if the poor cared about nutrition" etc when there ARE Such a thing as food deserts. Some people also don't have transportation and there is rarely good public transit. So they feed their kids what they can, as any parent would!

I hate when the "rich" talk about the "importance" of buying quality clothes etc too. SURE as long as you can afford the initial price!

So many choices were made by ancestors and those who oppressed them, way before today's people existed. So they are choosing from the only choices that exist.

Many options is privilege.

A very timely poem!

[marjorica]

Top stuff.

Even here in the UK where we have more public transport, it still takes time and money just to get to the food, the better supermarkets are out of town and everything is so expensive that I find myself really having to assess the benefits of the fresh ingredients vs the cheaper processed stuff. Even knowing what to do with ingredients is a mark of my privilege.

[serpentinejacaranda]

Powerful reminder of the creeping "nutritional moralism" layered over the families, resources, and bodies we're born into.. I also really love the performance, which captures your fragmented free verse really well!

[eeyore_grrl]

thanks. i'm not really sure how i put this one together, but i did!

[eeyore_grrl]

sanctimonious... the perfect word for an imperfect judgement....

[eeyore_grrl]

sadly, i think it is a timeless topic

[eeyore_grrl]

yes! the poor care about EATING. Period! and being clothed. Period. sure, most of them would LOVE to have "quality" food and clothing, etc... but here we are...hypocrites are us...

[krispykritter]

true that!

[eeyore_grrl]

ugh ugh ugh. it's fucking everywhere. my mom would skip meals so we could eat. that's maternal commitment. and KNOWING how to cook. that's a whole 'nother story... PRIVILEGE is everywhere!

[eeyore_grrl]

thank you for the compliments on my reading; i write like i think it.... and yeah. we are born into, or not, privilege. it means so much. i was not and now have it. it's weirdd.

[simplyn2deep]

This is raw, powerful truth, cutting through privilege with the sharp edge of lived experience. Your words lay bare the hypocrisy baked into our food systems and social judgments, where access masquerades as virtue. “None of it but the fruit grows on trees” will stay with me—it says everything.

[eeyore_grrl]

Thank you. The system makes me mad. We are a food rich country, why are people going hungry?

[fausts_dream]

This is such an important topic. The pure meanness of wanting to gatekeep what people on assistance eat. Nothing too fancy, certainly nothing sweet. If you wanted a cake on your child's birthday you shouldn't have been poor.

It's my understanding that places like Walmart and McDonald's give their employees tips on applying for assistance instead of you know paying a living wage.

And it is tough in certain neighborhoods finding healthy food, I've lived in some of them lots of liquor stores, used tire shops and payday loan advance places but no grocery stores with a decent produce section.

[erulissedances]

It's a very valid point, but it also applies to people throughout the world, not just the USA. However, since we live in the USA, it makes sense to make us the nexus.

- Erulisse (one L)

[muchtooarrogant]

There are so many fun lines here.
"& we hoard like villains in a disney movie"
" secretly eating snickers in our bathrobes"

Hahaha, I love snickers!

Being able to hear your own interpretation by listening to the poem was first rate! Thank you!

Dan

[hafnia]

This is great — powerfully written and performed, and about an issue that's very pressing especially in light of how tariffs are affecting food prices. Well done.

[halfshellvenus]

Oh, I really liked this-- and the contrast was a great use of the prompt.

we judge them all
secretly eating snickers in our bathrobe
Thinking ourselves righteous when we choose a better balance without understanding that for some, the choice is gone.

[legalpad819]

So true. As someone who has lived both in the lower classes tier and in a more comfortable place, I can tell the difference! My kids don't understand my over-gratefulness for everything we have or my desire to make the most of every item. Waste is a huge trigger for me. When you've had nothing- everything is special.

[murielle]

I have missed you! Your poetry and your readings!

This hits a little too close to home. Trying to have a more healthful diet after decades and decades of nutritional abuse of one sort or another all smothered in expectations beyond my means, and lies.

Yes! This!

Yay, you're back!

[bleodswean]

It's wonderful to see you here and penning your heart out poetically!

[rayaso]

Excellent point, and I enjoyed your poetic form. I can relate to eating a Snickers while wearing a bath robe. Great candy bar and a weakness of mine.

[gunwithoutmusic]

Well done! :)

[xeena]

This is such an important message world over. Loved the structure too

[mollywheezy]

"our social statue chose for us"

Very true!

[alycewilson]

Welcome back! I have a tracking app that I'm probably going to stop using, because it wants to scream at me about whether my meals are "optimal," "good" or "fair." It's so annoying!

[eeyore_grrl]

It's a huge problem in society. Gathering, yes that! Perfect word.

[eeyore_grrl]

I agree, but I didn't know as many specifics about other countries as I haven't lived in them.

[eeyore_grrl]

Thanks. Poetry is, usually, meant to be heard. IMO.

[eeyore_grrl]

I can't even imagine. And thank you.

[eeyore_grrl]

I have come across so many self righteous people; especially when it comes to how the poor spend their food budget. Ugh.

[eeyore_grrl]

Me too which is why I felt comfortable writing this. Poor is harder in so many ways in it's own don't add the judgement!

[eeyore_grrl]

Hi. It's good to be back. 4 years of Muse silence. It's nice to have her/them back just in time for this craziness.

[eeyore_grrl]

Thank you. And good luck

[eeyore_grrl]

🥰

[eeyore_grrl]

They're not bad, but give me a milky way dark! As far as the form, I think that way when I write.

[eeyore_grrl]

Thanks!

[eeyore_grrl]

Thanks. I find the structure indicates how I read and breathe.

[eeyore_grrl]

Truer than so many understand or want to believe.

[eeyore_grrl]

Ooh yeah no.... And thanks. Good to be back.

[static_abyss]

[static_abyss]

You mak a valid point, and I like that you also read the poem for us. You read it differently that I did the first time, and that added to my experience. Thank you for sharing!