A Poor Man's Paradise (3) (A Drumstick Told About Love) Poem by U Win Kyi

Today is a special day.
' Happy birthday, Papa ' we all say.
We are very happy,
For dinner, we have chicken curry,
with a taste yummy,
cooked by Mummy,
who bought the chicken with the money,
from the bank piggy.
The chicken is of not a whole,
because the buying power of money is very low.
She bought 1 drum stick, necks, wings and legs and some bony parts,
because the money is too little and not enough.
It is said 'The meat nearest to the bone is the sweetest.'
but actual fact is Mum can't afford to buy the chicken breast.
Our usual meal is always pea or bean,
meat is once in a while, rarely seen.

At dinner, Papa eats a neck but leaves the drumstick to Mum,
who eats a leg but leaves the drumstick to her elder son,
who eats a wing but leaves the drumstick to his younger sister,
who eats another wing but leaves the drumstick to her younger brother,
who just eats a leg instead,
and leaves ithe drumstick to his Dad.
Every one leaves the best part to the loved one,
until the dinner is finished and done.
Their hearts are touched,
by the love,
but the drumstick stays in the plate untouched.
Finally it is cut into 5 pieces,
and shared between us to eat.

We don't have any candles and birthday cake,
but so long as we love one another, a difference it doesn't make.