Radioactive Donuts Poem by Denis Mair
Radioactive Donuts
(---thanks to Brad Delany for the title)
After impulsive indulgence, the totality of choices must be weighed in the gut...
At such times the dark colonial history of sugar comes back to haunt us:
The triangular traffic that got our market system up and running: slavery, rum inebriation and pastries for London's shops… [1]
What about our misgivings when we quiet a whining child with a monster cookie? Surely it weakens the ability to delay gratification.
Don't we have second guesses over the flood of sweetness we invited, only to find that it undermines a precious means of motivation?
Mother Nature gave us this set of sensory bells and whistles, to deliver an unmistakable reward...
this was our way to visualize heaven by somatic means, so that body and mind can be uplifted together...
Wage slavery is still happening in the Dominican Republic, chronic kidney disease in cane fields is still a by-product of the trade… [2]
Omo Valley tribesmen and Tigray farmers are still the odd men out in a stacked labor market… [3]
If appetites really do push us to the edge of a conflagration, then maybe all this gratification won't have been worth it…
In the midst of a sugar buzz we suddenly realize: we weren't careful what we wished for.
....................................
[1] 'The Barbaric History of Sugar in America, ' NEW YORK TIMES, Aug.14,2019
[2] 'Burning Sugarcane Possible Cause of Mystery Kidney Disease in Agricultural Workers, ' CU Anschutz Medical Campus Website.
[3] 'State-led modernization of the Ethiopian sugar industry: questions of power and agency in lowland transformation, ' Journal of East African Studies: Volume 16,2022 - Issue 3
TWO: It explores the interaction between past and present, the struggle to preserve cultural heritage, and the impact of transience on our lives.
By giving numbers, the response will be read in the correct way.ONE: it revolves around the enduring nature of language, tradition and identity. .
Great subject, sugar, our choices but the last line could be improved: e.g.In the midst of a sugar buzz we were suddenly sobered by such careless choices.....
I'm reminded of asbestos mining illnesses suffered years after the fact (I believe) by miners without respirators.: (
'While heat stress and climate change have contributed to this epidemic, researchers have identified tiny silica particles released from sugarcane ash that can be inhaled or ingested through contaminated drinking water that cause chronic kidney damage.'
Denis, I may return to this poem after my donut-break. : ) bri Drink milk with it.
FOUR: The poem invites readers to reflect on their own connections to heritage and the ever-changing world around them A profound poem
This poem has not been translated into any other language yet.
I would like to translate this poem
Delivering Poems Around The World
Poems are the property of their respective owners. All information has been reproduced here for educational and informational purposes to benefit site visitors, and is provided at no charge...
12/7/2025 1:01:37 AM # 1.0.0
THREE; Through vivid images and metaphors, he explores the tension between tradition and modernity. highlighting the power of language and the echoes of history.