Reviews are limited by at least two things: The reviewer's knowledge/background and the author's temperament. Sometimes the reviewer's understanding and interpretation of a piece misses the mark. When the author believes this is the case, he can become hurt or angered. Please don't be. This review is neither a condemnation of your work, nor an extolment. It's just my opinion, nothing more.




The poem got off to a decent enough start, it points toward a noble goal, addressing poverty and drought (though you never specify where.) Then you focus on how we see these things in the media, wondering if we feel blessed to be in a better situation. You then mention our avoidance of these miseries, how it is easy to turn our heads and ignore them.

Then however, beginning with line ten, the poem seems to lose some of the focus, though reading it again, I guess I can see how it relates to the theme, but it’s a little tenuous.

I’m impressed by the internal rhyme, that took some skill, though at times it seemed a little strained (stay/play} for example. But mostly I’d just like to see the poem tightened just a little, so that the focus either remains with those who suffer, or with us who turn away and try to avoid the unpleasantness.
I like the recurring lines at the beginning and end of the poem, it leaves the reader believing that things can change, and that we can feed the poor of the world, which is a nice, if unrealistic dream.