Close Your Mouth, Speak Up! Ethos for the Future Too loud. “You are too loud.” Opinions vociferous and freely shared. Too big. “You are too big.” Taking up so much space in this conversation. Too deep. “You are too deep.” The connections inferred uncomfortable. Too soft. “You are too soft.” Life is unfair and justice unreachable. Be loud. I am not loud enough alone. Our voices raised together command power. Be big. I am not big enough alone. We will occupy the conversatio

Disordered Numbers and the Weight of Worthy I learned to count at 14. 5’5”/170 equals 28.3. 1500 kcals is the key to this equation. The scale requires better balance. I learned to reduce at 14. 28.3 equals too much. 1500 kcals minus joy equals 130. Subtract comfort, gain beauty. I learned to restrict at 14. 5’6’/170 equals 27.4. 1500 kcals is not negotiable. Shrink my waist to belong. I learned to binge at 14. 27.4 equals obesity. 1500 kcals is unobtainable. Weight of m

My name is Cally Jane Ward. I am a mother, a student, a working-class proletarian, a former chef, a community advocate, and a lover of learning. I am currently completing my undergraduate degree as a non-traditional student in Sustainable Foods and Bioenergy Systems at Montana State University. Throughout this program we are asked to critically examine our social and cultural relationships with food systems. I created this collection of poems as a narrative of my food story

Tending Trug the piglet. I eat my friends. I didn’t always. Until I was in my 60s, like most people, I ate only strangers. I typically encountered them in a baking dish, or on a rotisserie. At times I met them at the grill, or in a carry-out bag. Or I unwrapped dismembered bits of them from cellophane. At a good restaurant, I would be presented with some portion of their inert bodies, appetizingly arranged. I’d leave uneaten pieces of them for the kitchen staff to dispose of.