A Poem Made of Bread – by Ibtisam Barakat

In the middle of bread
all loaves, all shapes
American white
French baguette, or
Arabic flat
single flour
or multi-grain
there is the word: read
All that remains if you break
a loaf of bread is: read
past and present
eternal like rain
falling from the sky
grain by grain
Those who cannot read
are the hunger of this world
And dinner will not be ready
until they can read
Dinner will not be served
until all can read
and the young have books
early in life
to sleep on like pillows
after reading so late
and the passing to have books
to take to the afterlife
a gift to the reading angels
who long for human bread