Puffed Rice

That's puffed rice,

a much-loved snack,

I had learned to enjoy

since early childhood

in India, my homeland.

We grew our own rice,

and an expert old man

came home

to prepare tins of

that crunchy delicacy,

on woodfire, clay pot,

to be stored

and to be used for months.

I didn’t value it much,

took it for granted—

a lowly, boring,

ever-present snack.

Now in the USA,

flooded with processed foods,

fatty, sugar, preserved,

I long for puffed rice,

a simple snack, with no vice.

I find it in grocery stores,

but it’s not the same.

Often rancid, no taste,

big, and puffy,

smeared with urea,

yes the fertilizer.

I’m aware what

ugly chemicals

can go into foods,

so I avoid eating it often—

just once in a while,

when I crave very much,

but it’s not the same,

lost in translation, a shame.

Sad, how the food scene

has been corrupted

what should be nourishing

is now inflammatory, allergenic

Even puffed rice

is not spared, it's toxic

Note: Have you tried this snack?