starvation ends

if you were starving, your
mother used to say,
your tongue would turn black.
you stick your tongue
out and look into
the side of a toaster
oven, it's not black.
but still, you say to no
one, but the dog, who
apparently is also starving,
that you are starving.
you see a carton of
eggs in the fridge.
there's peanut butter
and jelly, but you have
no bread.
oatmeal. no.
there's a bag of peas
in the freezer.
a can of amy's chili
that might be ten years
old in the cupboard.
the word botulism comes
to mind. you check the can
for dents and to see
if it feels swollen. it sort
of does.
pizza, Chinese.
kung pao you say
out loud. spare ribs
and kung pao.
the dog wags his tail.
he barks.
starvation is about to end
in give or take
forty five minutes.