by Ihor Pidhainy
Bread and potatoes,
Add a dollop of cream,
A cabbage, a beat, a carrot,
And the occasional cutlet or chicken,
And you have your diet
Foolproof for centuries
Unless a famine strikes,
Your neighbor steals your grain,
And other crops are siphoned off.
Your children and parents thin out
And die, and you hobble along
Until your neighbor relents
And you survive on a couple of biscuits
Left over from the winter before.