“Eat!” says the mother,
but the child refuses.
The child only wants
what the child herself chooses.
The mother despairs that
the child will eat right
If the child doesn’t have
a good appetite
—she needs hunger.
A man gets up,
wanting to be thin,
And he knows that a jog wouldn’t be a sin,
But he works at a desk, sitting all day long.
And for food he eats junk, though he knows it’s wrong
—he needs hunger.
“Blest,” says the Master, “are the poor in Spirit”:
The ones who can taste that it’s truth when they hear it.
But few people swallowed His lesson that day.
They were full of concerns, so they turned away
—they needed hunger.
Spiritual food and spiritual drink
Create spiritual health and allow you to think.
Spiritual jogging burns spiritual fat
And for spiritual growth, remember that
—you need hunger.
We won’t get hungry if we spend our days
In a spiritual slumber or a spiritual haze.
We need will power for a spiritual diet.
It’s a taste we acquire if we go on and try it
—we need hunger.