Here’s the lyrics of a song i wrote in 2002. The literal reading of this song is starting to happen all over the globe these days. Of course the song may not only be about physical hunger. But the leanness of these nearly unprecedented times that we are crashing into is a reality that shows itself as both a challenge and a gift in both our material and spiritual lives, because the two are inextricable.
The Starving Time
Today begins the starving time
Thank God,
I was starting to get a little bit flabby
Today begins the starving time
Thank God,
There’s only so many flavors Ben and Jerry’s can invent
Today begins the starving time
the feast is over and the host is dead
there’s no dessert, get in line for bread
Today begins the starving time
tighten your belt a notch or five,
your expectations just took a dive
from fat and happy
to happy to survive
Today begins the starving time,
the swords are drawn and the guns are ready
to guard what’s left
of the circus of plenty,
and the priests are sitting with bowls in hand
by the stations of the cross, waiting for the band
to play the anthem of the Hungry Ghost
in his black limousine, tossing them toast
And the crowds are swarming behind the walls
built from the ruins of the shopping malls
And the crowds are boiling now into the streets
drunk on the glory of nothing to eat
because the starving time is here
Today begins the starving time:
the feast is over and the cupboard is bare,
if there’s anything left, its been hidden with care
from the tigers waking from their lairs
Today begins the starving time,
and everything we thought we knew
is over
