Empty Pantries

Lines curl round the mission gate
Moms with strollers learn to wait
The cupboards bare, the lights turned low
But still the children's voices glow
Empty pantries, full of echoes
Of promises we used to know
We break the bread, we share the hand
Making more from what we can
SNAP's delayed, the shelves run thin
They say "next week," but no one wins
Church bells ring with paper bags
Hope wrapped tight in borrowed rags
It ain't charity it's a chain
When one goes hungry, we all feel the strain
Empty pantries, full of echoes
We make it work with what we know
Still we gather, hand in hand
Dreaming bigger than what we can
We share the table, we share the pain
Tomorrow's hope will rise again